Class _SXi^^ 

Book 

Copyiight]^" 

COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



MAN AN ETERNAL 
PROBATIONER 



BY REV. GREEN P. JACKSON 

Of the Tennessee Conference 



"Wc have our hope set on the living God, who is the 
Saviour of all men, specially of them that believe." (i 
Tim. iv. lo.) 

"Faithful is the saying, and worthy of all acceptation, 
that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.'* 
(i Tim. i. ij.) 



NASHVILLE, TENN. 
PRINTED FOR THE AUTHOR 
1902 




TH? \tBRAF?Y OF 

CONGRESS, 
Tv/o Copic? Recsived 

■Sf?- ■ 1902 

CLASS ^2--XXc No. 

■CC'S^Y S. 



Copyrighted, iqo2 

BY 

Green P. Jackson 



TO THE MEMORY OF MY SAINTED WIFE, 



WHO, FOR MORE THAN THIRTY-ONE YEARS. 
WAS THE HAPPINESS OF MY HOME 
AND THE LIGHT OF MY LIFE. 



Prefatory Note. 



Of course all questions referring to the future years of time 
or relating to the coming ages of eternity are obliged to be 
more or less speculative and uncertain. And for this reason 
they must be in a large measure merely conjectures put forth 
by us concerning certain things, as we have conceived them in 
our minds, which may or may not come to pass as we have 
anticipated. Now these suppositions, or guesses, are gener- 
ally, as we think, based safely and discreetly upon the ad- 
mitted facts and recognized disclosures of divine revelation, 
or upon the clear discoveries and established developments in 
the natural sciences, as we understand and accept them. 

And in view of these simple statements, we can never rea- 
sonably claim to be justifiable, under any circumstances, in 
presenting or maintaining our notions in regard to these mat- 
ters, however dear they may be to us, in a dogmatic spirit or 
with an arrogant bearing toward others who may happen to 
differ from us, as the chances for mistake and failure are al- 
ways too many and too great. The most that we can afford, 
at the present, with anything like becoming grace, is to hold 
them in abeyance, and with modesty and unpretentious confi- 
dence frankly submit them to the candid and sober judgment 
of others for their approval or rejection; and then await with 
patience, quietness, and resignation the swift flight of the fleet- 

J(5) 



6 Prefatory Note. 



ing years of time and the slow lapse of the long lagging epochs 
of eternal ages either to vindicate the peculiar views which 
we have so fully loved and fondly espoused in this life, or else 
expose their fallacy. And so it must become evident to all 
who favor freedom of speech, and do not fear an investigation 
in matters of faith and practice, that the widest liberty of ex- 
pression ought to be allowed to men along these dim lines of 
unsettled thought which are found to be very fascinating to 
some minds and perfectly harmless to all. For it is a plain 
proposition that if we ever make anything like important and 
profitable advances in the unfolding of illimitable truth, as 
contained in the Holy Scriptures, we will be compelled some- 
times to come into sharp collision with, and occasionally forced, 
whether with cheerfulness or regret to ourselves, to depart en- 
tirely from tenderly fostered and decidedly popular opinions 
which were once most heartily embraced by our pious, patri- 
otic, and noble fathers ; and which were bravely, honestly, and 
persistently defended by them, and faithfully handed down to 
us in the sacred annals of the hallowed past. 

And just now, at this particular period in the thrilling his- 
tory of the ever-adventurous human race, the whole world 
appears to be in the midst of a radical and revolutionary 
change which most clearly indicates a transition state in all 
things. Old creeds in the Churches, venerable with age, and 
old platforms in political parties, hoary with years, are un- 
mistakably slipping rapidly away from us. And as much as 
we love and admire them, we are perfectly willing to let them 
go ; for in parting with them, we come at once into possession 



Prefatory Note. 7 



of others which are as wiselj^ framed and far better adapted 
to us and this wonderful age in which we are living. 

And in view of these stirring and suggestive events, may we 
not reasonably and justly claim and expect to receive the ten- 
der sympathy and tolerant indulgence of an advancing, enter- 
prising, and generous reading public with us in the unusual 
positions and candid utterances set forth in this little book, 
which is itself the result of the gradual growth of a divine im- 
pression made upon the warm affections of the heart, as well 
as the production of the most thoughtful years of mature life. 
And now we send it forth upon its anxious mission with an 
earnest, devout, and continuous prayer that it may prove to 
be a fruitful source of hope, help, and happiness to men every- 
where. 

And may the kind and courteous reader and the humble, 
grateful writer so live here below that they shall meet each 
other above, to spend an eternity of bliss upon the bright, 
sunny plains of immortality and the clear, cloudless summits 
of the beautiful mountains of everlasting life. 

Green P. Jackson. 

Nashville, TEPm., August 31, 1902. 



** One question more than others all 
Of thoughtful minds implores reply: 
It is, as breathed from star and pall, 
What fate awaits us when we die?" 



Man An Eternal Probationer. 



PART I. 



A Plain, Simple Presentation of the Subject. 

is on trial. The term of his probation 
never ends in an absolute sense. He controls 



will not continue to do so throughout the roll of the 
eternal ages of the future. Vice and virtue, so far as 
he is concerned, originate with him. They are but 
the overt expressions of his will power, put forth by 
him in the choice of actions. And so he places him- 
self, by his own voluntary option, in a state of hap- 
piness or unhappiness. And heaven must forever be 
his reasonable reward for righteousness, and hell his 
just retribution for wickedness. Thus he necessarily 
stands before us in his strange connection, both with 
this present world and the one which is to come. 

Future punishment, however, is here proposed for 
special consideration. As generally held, it is con- 
fessedly a horrible theme for contemplation or dis- 
cussion; but may not the ordinary notion concerning 
it, which is so prevalent, prove on closer examina- 
tion to be incorrect, at least in some particulars? 
And if so, ought it not to be modified ? 

But we certainly should be slow in making up our 
minds on this question of supreme importance. And 
that we may reach a safe and satisfactory conclusion 




the run of his life during the transient years 
of time, and there is no intimation that he 



(9) 



lo Man An Eternal Probationer. 



in regard to it, we must not only be cautious and de- 
liberate, but we must also avoid everything like haste 
or heedlessness in connection with it. And then if, as 
we have been assiduously taught to believe from our 
early childhood, it is true, it will be found, under 
the closest scrutiny and severest tests, to comport 
perfectly with the voice of revelation and reason. 
Then let us try to look critically, but at the same time 
candidly, into the matter. 

AN is a free agent. This is frankly admitted. 
And at the same time it is readily accepted 
that he is placed under the restraints of 
moral law, which he is competent of meeting 
with becoming obedience, or rejecting with defiant vio- 
lation, as he may see fit to decide for himself. Hence 
he is reasonably and justly held responsible for all his 
actions, whether they be good or bad. And being per- 
fectly free now, he must remain free forever. This is 
essential to him — indispensably so, in order that his re- 
sponsibility may continue with him always. But free- 
dom of will necessarily implies choice between good 
and evil things. So that doing righteous deeds or per- 
forming wicked works must, in the very nature of 
things, invariably result in building up a character in 
harmony with them. And it is a conceded fact, fully 
sustained by the experience and observation of men, 
that character never fails to fix destiny for weal or 
woe. Now everybody knows well enough that any 
man can change his course of conduct as long as he 
lives in this world. And if his manner of living and 
acting is completely at his command while he remains 




Man An Eternal Probationer. ii 



here, who can say that such ceases to be the case with 
him in any place or at any time hereafter ? 

But does it not naturally follow that if there should 
ever come a period in the history of any man in v/hich 
he is deprived of the power and precious privilege of 
independent choice, he can no longer be held respon- 
sible for anything that he may think, say, or do ? Nei- 
ther does it matter materially when or where this fatal 
misfortune might come upon him, as the ruinous re- 
sult would be the same. For with tl-e end of the free- 
dom of will all responsibility must stop. It stands 
out plainly to reason and common sense that if he can- 
not do that which he ought to do, or refrain from do- 
ing that which he is doing, he can by no means be 
held accountable in any way for what he does or does 
not accomplish. 

No government on the face of the earth is so un- 
reasonable and cruelly unjust in the requirements and 
demands which it makes of its citizens and subjects 
as to inflict sore punishment upon them for things 
which they could not, by their untrammeled choice 
and power, bring about or prevent from coming into 
existence. And "shall not the Judge of all the earth 
do right" ? We surely ought to strive to be reverential 
and pious enough to believe that he will. We need 
a better knowledge of the true character of his ad- 
ministration, and want a closer acquaintance with his 
merciful management of its affairs. However, we 
may safely accept it as a reliable principle in the di- 
vine economy that no man will be compensated or 
punished for any event or occurrence that may happen 
to take place over v/hich he did not have a controlling 
influence. Even the civil courts and political powers 



12 Man An Eternal Probationer. 



of this world grant this much to men in their deahngs 
with them. And to hold otherwise must prove de- 
structive to all the grand and vital principles of justice 
and equity as recognized and enforced by all wise and 
prudent governments, whether existing among Chris- 
tian nations or heathen peoples. If such a thing were 
feasible — if it could be done at all — God could as 
rationally punish a beam of timber, block of stone, or 
rod of iron, for breaking, splitting, or bending, as to 
pour out eternal wrath upon a poor, wretched, lost, 
and undone sinner in the dreary regions of the 
damned, if there is no possibility, not the sHglitest 
chance, of thereby improving his desperate condition, 
reclaiming him from his unfortunate ahenation, and 
restoring him to the forfeited favor of Heaven. But 
if, as we have been confidently assured, he will grow 
constantly worse and worse under this treatment, 
while the mournful ages come and go, and his tor- 
tures are to become severer and yet still more severe 
in the dark and dreadful domains of an endless per- 
dition, v\^ould it not be far better for all concerned to 
blot out the ruined one? And would not stern jus- 
tice join tender mercy in an urgent request that this 
be done? It could be done. God who made him cer- 
tainly could annihilate him. And it is readily seen 
that complete obliteration is infinitely preferable to an 
eternal and ever-increasing agony. Common sense 
clearly lies on that side of this gloomy and hideous 
question. It needs no argument to set it up. Vastly 
more scriptural proof can be furnished in its favor than 
can be arrayed against it. Surely if there is a man 
anywhere in the whole earth whom God can never 
save, we may fondly hope that he will expunge such 



Man An Eternal Probationer. 13 



a one entirely from existence. Why should he per- 
petuate his miserable being simply to keep him con- 
fined in the hot fires and raging flames of an endless 
hell? What manner of good can ever come out of 
such an utterly horrible procedure? Why, it would 
fill the world with the shades of sadness, and over- 
whelm all sympathetic natures with painful but un- 
availing sensations of heartfelt commiseration. It 
would appall the entire universe. However, is it not 
strictly true that freedom of will is an indispensable 
element in the very constitution of human nature? 
Then, if this be so, to take it away from man would for- 
ever wreck his accountability. Therefore such a 
thing can never be done. Just as long as a man re- 
mains a man he must be allowed to do right or wrong 
according to his own unhampered choice, that he may 
be held personally responsible for his character and 
condition. So that, whether they be good or bad, he 
is self-conscious that they are the immediate and le- 
gitimate results of his own choosing and doing. 

And it is an unalterable law of the very being of 
m.an that he is always made happy or miserable by the 
exercise and final determination of his ;will power. 
According to his volition, he does that which is right 
and fills his pure heart with the untold joys of heaven, 
or else he does that which is wrong and floods his evil 
soul with the indescribable agonies of hell. And thus 
he makes his own happiness or wretchedness. God 
has mercifully and wisely so arranged and adjusted 
the principles of his great moral system of law and or- 
der to us that we can build up for ourselves a beautiful 
Paradise and revel in its pleasures and delights, or we 
may form our own perdition and writhe in its pains 



14 Man An Eternal Probationer. 



and tortures. Then we must not attribute our lack 
of transporting bliss or charge our distressing com- 
punctions of guilt to any other person than ourselves. 
And this strange and singular capability of passing 
at will from one of these diverse states to the other 
one must be preserved to us perpetually. We can 
never, under any circumstances, surrender it our- 
selves, or be deprived of it by any one else. It must 
remain incontestably in our possession forever. And 
we cannot fail to recognize and realize that this is 
just and right. Then may we not reasonably suppose 
that death itself will not be able to end this established 
order of things with us, or even to change it materi- 
ally? Rather, are we not obUged to conclude that it 
cannot do it? As we leave the receding shores of 
time, so we shall plunge into the boundless ocean of 
eternity. That is to say, we must carry all of our 
marvelous powers with us, and keep them, world with- 
out end. They belong to us exclusively and ever- 
lastingly. We may dishonor and degrade, but we 
can never lose or destroy, these sublime and lofty 
qualities which God has seen fit to bestow upon us 
for his glory and our good. And we may have the 
same or similar powers and opportunities for being 
righteous and practicing righteousness, or for being 
wicked and doing wickedness, in that mysterious world 
all along through the eternal ages which have been so 
abundantly afforded us in this life. We may also re- 
tain in undiminished measure and strength all the 
possibilities, privileges, and responsibilities for chan- 
ging our character and condition over there which we 
have here. But some of us have shamefully neglected 
and signally failed to properly appreciate and wisely 



Man An Eternal Probationer. 15 



improve them here; so we may continue to do in 
the future life. Now all this implies and suggests 
that the destinies of men are not unchangeably fixed 
at death. They can never be immutably settled. 
This cannot be without doing destructive violence 
to the nature of man. And therefore it cannot be 
done at all. 

And, as we have already intimated, it may be that 
sinners will repent, believe, and be saved in the next 
world as in this life. Or they may persist in impeni- 
tency there, and abide in condemnation as in the days 
of their flesh. 

li has been said that though crowned in heaven 
we may still prove recreant and unfaithful to God, 
abandon our places in glory, forfeit salvation, and 
descend to the doleful regions of deep despair. Even 
that great and good man, Bishop Enoch M. Marvin, 
in his wonderful little book entitled "The Work of 
Christ," says : "Now and then volition may assert itself 
capriciously, and a spirit give itself up recklessly to 
ruin against the full attractions of Godhead." 

This startling statement may be true. We have no 
good and sufficient reason to contradict it, but we 
find much to commend it to our favorable attention 
and serious consideration. Then we most respect- 
fully submit the very natural inquiry : If the saint can 
slip down from heaven into hell, why may not the sin- 
ner struggle up out of hell into heaven? Who can fur- 
nish a satisfactory answer to this question, and show 
us why this should not be the case ? 

In the discussion of this important matter, let us 
try to disabuse our minds of all prejudice, predilec- 
tion, and especially let us endeavor to get clear of the 



i6 Man An Eternal Probationer. 



blinding influence of passion, that we may look quiet- 
ly, calmly, and! discreetly into the difficult and per- 
plexing problem, so that we may reach a sure and safe 
conclusion in regard to it. And in this way we shall 
retain our reason and judgment in clearness and 
soundness ; and when we come to render our final de- 
cision in the case, we will be able to do it with fairness 
and impartiality. 

If the sanctified and saved in glory may become dis- 
aft'ected, discontented, disobedient, and rebelHous to- 
ward God, and, as the sinning angels are said to have 
done, renounce their shining stations above and sink 
down to the nethermost abysm of woe, it does seem 
but reasonable, just, and right that the lost in the 
black realm of rayless and starless night should be al- 
lowed to repent, believe, be forgiven, and pass up 
from the sorrowful shades of sin and death to the 
rapturous joys of heaven. And the plausibility of 
the one assumption certainly must suggest and set up 
the plausibiHty of the other one. And it would seem 
that all orderly minds must come at last to see it in 
that light. 

Why should it be made such an easy matter for 
men to break into the murky dungeons of perdition, 
and so very difficult for them to find their way out of 
them? Can it possibly be true that the Lord takes 
greater pleasure in the destruction than in the salva- 
tion of men ? Surely this cannot be the case. Such a 
thing must be profoundly and permanently repugnant 
to him in thought and feeling. It can only be re- 
garded as antagonistic to his holy nature and immacu- 
late character. Then we could commit no higher of- 
fense than to bring such an accusation against him; 



Man An Eternal Probationer. 17 



for his goodness and purity cannot be impugned or 
impeached. 

He is the Father of men — of all men, everywhere 
and in every condition and station of life. Then what 
tender and sacred relations must exist between the 
Almighty and his helpless children! And will not 
his fatherhood secure for us a milder course of treat- 
m.ent at his hands ? It certainly ought to do it. What 
earthly parent — ^if such a thing were possible — would 
think of inflicting insupportable, unmitigated, endless 
torture upon his poor, unfortunate, and erring child, 
without the least hope or chance of improving or in 
any way benefiting the defenseless sufiferer by it? 
Now Jesus would answer this question by saying : 

If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto 
your children, how much more shall your Father who is in 
heaven give good things to them that ask him? 

That is, to say the least of it, comforting. 

Parental chastisement, under all circumstances, must 
have full in view as its chief object and dearest aim the 
reformation, amendment, and improvement of the re- 
fractory child. And when it fails in this superlative 
intention, it ceases to be corrective, loses its advan- 
tages in the management of the family, and degener- 
ates into downright cruelty. The penalty for violated 
law should always be executed as tenderly as possible. 
Even inexorable justice yields this much to the 
doomed culprit. 

But some one may be tempted to say that we are 
pressing into service an old hackneyed and worn-out 
illustration. Well, if so, we readily grant it. But 
still, it must in all fairness be admitted that this, as a 

2 



i8 Man An Eternal Probationer. 



simple fact in itself, cannot in the least degree or re- 
motest sense weaken its force or strip it of its fitness 
in this argument. Here its great age and much usage 
do not damage it. In this particular instance it fills 
its place well ; and the effect of its application must be 
felt and appreciated by all. 

It should be borne in mind and cherished in heart 
that our heavenly Father is infinitely better and wiser 
in his treatment and controlment of us than our earth- 
ly parents can be. His compassion, affection, and 
concern for us can know no limitation or abatement. 
We are his children ; and for this reason he will love 
us forever. And as long as he loves us, he must seek 
to make us happy and not miserable. 

This much we might naturally expect to receive from 
our fathers according to the flesh; then how much 
more from him who is '^the Father of our spirits"? 
His grace and pity can never fail or forsake us. 
Such a thing is impossible, both in thought and 
fact. 

If we only wish to become good and be happy, no 
difference when or where the heaven-born disposition 
and soul-inspiring desire may come to us, the Lord 
will not only permit us to do so, but he will himself 
most gladly assist us in obtaining the coveted bless- 
ing. And to accomplish this end he would tax the 
richest resources of his omniscience. 

And this is just what he is doing. Is it intimating 
too much to say that if such a thing could be he 
would willingly bankrupt infinite mercy to save lost 
souls, yea, one lost soul? Surely it could not, since 
he has already given "his only begotten Son" for 
sinners. 



Man An Eternal Probationer. 19 



E are painfully aware of the fact that the pe- 
culiar vicvv^s which we are setting forth and 
advocating in this little book will hardly 
meet with a warm welcome and cordial in- 
dorsement from all who may chance to examine them. 
And we are not entirely ignorant of, or indifferent to, 
the evident danger which still lurks in the words of the 
wise man, and speaks to us in lingering tones of threat- 
ened danger, saying, "And whoso breaketh a hedge, 
a serpent shall bite him." 

Nevertheless, however true this may be, hedge- 
breaking must and will go on ; and no manner of pro- 
scription from any quarter can stop it. But he who 
ventures to break the hedge should weigh well the 
gravity of the act before he undertakes it, lest he 
should afterwards regret it. 

I^^^IT will greatly relieve matters in the discus- 
^^^^ sion of this difficult question to have clear 
^^^^ and correct conceptions of what really con- 
stitutes Heaven and Hell, which are ever 
present in our hopes and fears. On thorough exami- 
nation, we may find that they are more properly re- 
garded as states than places, though it has not been 
our custom to think or speak of them after this fash- 
ion. We have been in the habit of looking upon the 
locality itself as being in some way productive of weal 
or woe to us. And yet, in our more thoughtful moods, 
we know full well that it is not the outward circum- 
stances that make a man happy or unhappy ; but it is 
the inward condition of the man himself. Joy or sor- 
row is each one .of them a condition of the mind which 




20 Man An Eternal Probationer. 



can be affected but slightly at last by extraneous sur- 
roundings. 

And hence the old theory, which once prevailed al- 
most universally among men, that hell is a shore- 
less and bottomless lake of fire and brimstone, into 
the immeasurable, turbulent, boihng depths of which 
incorrigible sinners are plunged with great force 
and swiftness, and upon whose fiery, burning billows, 
tipped with flickering flames of damnation, lost souls 
are forever tossed and dashed about, and violently 
driven against the rough, jagged rocks and black, 
storm-beaten reefs of hopeless despair, has been al- 
most entirely relegated to the deadness of the past 
as suitably belonging to the crude notions of an im- 
mature age. And even now, as we look upon these 
curious reHcs of strange thought, we feel, with some- 
thing akin to awe, their misleading influences still 
lurking and lingering about us. There seems to be a 
sort of self-induced superstitious behef, which has ob- 
tained much favor among some good, pious people, 
that there is a derelict world of wickedness and woe, 
and all who come into contact with that accursed orb 
are made thereby wretched forever. There is also 
an enchanting impression abroad that there is likewise 
a bright, beautiful world of purity and bliss called 
Heaven, which contains all the elements and principles 
of perfect peace and happiness within its celestial 
sphere, and all who are so fortunate as to once gain a 
footing upon its bewitching surface are immediately 
filled with endless joy. 

Now these things are merely the unsubstantial but 
dazzling fancies of an overindulged imagination, "and 
nothing more." They are entirely v/ithout anything 



Man An Eternal Probationer. 21 



like a solid foundation either in reason or the word of 
the Lord. And, therefore, they must be more or less 
deleterious. If we follow them, we are obHged to lose 
sight of the genuine properties and qualities which 
constitute happiness or misery. 

Perhaps the truth of the matter will be found in 
some such proposition as the following: Heaven or 
hell is simply the conscious condition of blessedness 
or wretchedness which personal character must always 
produce within us. For example, a good man is hap- 
py just simply because he is good ; and for this very 
reason it could not be otherwise with him. What he 
is and what he does furnish him abundantly with un- 
wasting stores of imperishable comfort. He feels 
satisfied that God approves his ways, and knows that 
his fellow-men love and respect him. 

And, on the other hand, a bad man is necessarily 
unhappy. An abiding sense of guilt fills him with 
keen remorse. He is ever reaping the bitter fruits of 
his evil doings. His wicked works haunt him still; 
and they open up in his aching heart and blasted life 
sweeping torrents of self-inflicted ruin. He needs no 
deeper or hotter hell than this. Nothing worse can 
ever come unto him ; no, nothing at all. 

So it appears that every man creates for himself his 
heaven or hell, and carries it around daily in his own 
bosom. And he may continue to do this forever. 
Just as he decides to be, so he is. Upon his determi- 
nation he soars direct to heaven or sinks straight to 
hell. 

Then we may confidently assure ourselves that 
while on earth, tabernacling in bodies of flesh and 
blood and associated with each other in the different 



22 Man An Eternal Probationer. 



walks and various pursuits of life, we are at the same 
time testing by way of actual and adequate realization 
in our experience the pleasures of the crowned saints 
in glory or the pains of the suffering sinners in perdi- 
tion. And they are as real, though not as full, now 
as they will be when we pass the judgment bar of God. 
And in view of these important facts, we are told that 
the righteous have "tasted the good word of God, and 
the powers of the age to come." That is to say, they 
have as truly antedated the happiness of heaven amid 
the trials and troubles of this world as that they have 
been able to verify that "the word of God is good." 
And it is also affirmed of the wicked : 

He that believeth not hath been judged already, because 
he hath not believed on the name of the only begotten Son 
of God. 

According to this, it is even now with the sinful man 
as if he had stood up in judgment and received his 
dooming sentence. Then a man does not have to die 
to suffer the tortures of perdition, as v/e have been ac- 
customed to think. They come to him here, for if he 
beheves not on Jesus Christ, he is already damned — 
condemmd. 

And as we know that men can change these condi- 
tions as long as they live, we naturally infer that they 
will continue to be able to do so after death. Proba- 
tion is the necessary and normal estate of man, and 
therefore it must be secured to him as long as he is 
allowed to remain in existence. And it would seem 
that this is obHgea to be equally true of all intelligent, 
responsible, moral beings of every name and order. 

Death can make no change or disturbance so far as 
the inherent rights of man to perfect freedom of choice 



Man An Eternal Probationer. 23 



and action are concerned. Nor can it in any material 
sense interfere with his established relations with God 
or his fellow-man. 

The Bible does not teach clearly, by implication or 
otherwise, that final doom follows immediately upon 
the dissolution of the body. But on the contrary, its 
uniform utterances distinctly lead us to the opposite 
opinion, as Vv^e shall plainly see when we come to con- 
sult its sacred pages more directly in connection with 
this puzzling question. 



^^^S|UT if it be true that men can obtain remis- 
^^^H sion of sins in the future world, is it not like- 
^^^m ly that they will all finally repent, believe in 
Jesus, and be saved? That is certainly the 
oiily legitimate conclusion to be reached in regard to 
the matter. And that is just what we pray and hope 
for, and confidently expect to see. 

The brightest and most entrancing dream of our 
life can be fully realized alone in the consummated 
happiness of the whole world. And the possibility of 
this is based upon the great, consoling truth that all 
men are redeemed by the most precious blood of the 
divine Son of God. 




E may be looking for some radical changes 
at death which will not materialize. In all 
likeHhood these strange things which we 



have been depicting for ourselves can never 
come to pass. It may turn out that these grotesque 



24 Man An Eternal Probationer. 



expectations have no existence outside of, and apart 
from, our own misguided anticipations. 

In our usual way of thinking, death and the un- 
known future which Ues beyond it are not very cheer- 
ful but rather gloomy views. Much of this prevailing 
delusion, however, may be attributable to our early 
education and training. And this makes it the more 
difficult for us to shake it off or get rid of it in any way. 

ERHAPS a closer and more earnest study of 
the complex structure and nature of man 
might assist us much in unraveling the mys- 
terious intricacies in connection with the 
abstruse and most vexed question which we have un- 
dertaken in this investigation. And so we willingly 
address ourselves to the rather difficult but engaging 
task before us. And we are aware of the fact that we 
must weigh our thoughts and words well before sub- 
mitting them to others for their consideration and 
approval. 

Man is a composite being. He is a threefold crea- 
ture in his nature; that is to say, he combines three 
distinct things in his wonderful make-up. In his per- 
sonality we find him holding together three things 
which are entirely different from each other in char- 
acter and use. The first one of these, in the order of 
his creation or, speaking more accurately, formation, 
is his body; the next is his spirit; and the last is his 
soul. 

Now the body is the tabernacle of the soul. The 
soul is strangely incased in the body. And for a while 
it sojourns in it here on earth, as in a tent. The soul 




Man An Eternal Probationer. 25 

imparts form and beauty to the body. It gives sig- 
nificant expression to the features of the body, ani- 
mates it with vital fire, and thrills it with the sublima- 
ted, delicate, pure, and dehghtful sensations of hfe. 

And the soul is itself the magnificent temple of the 
spirit. The spirit is divinely enshrined in the soul, 
which is its appointed abode and most suitable habi- 
tation. The spirit confers eternal majesty upon the 
soul and floods it with the fadeless splendors of im- 
miortality. The soul owes its vast powers and imper- 
ishable possessions to its permanent connection and 
inseparable companionship with the spirit. They are 
closely and vitally joined together in the essential in- 
timacies of an endless union. 

The soul, under the predominating and sanctifying 
presence and influence of the spirit, transforms the in- 
ferior body into a beautiful, chaste, and becoming 
residence for its immaterial and Godlike occupants. 
And this is the natural and normal condition of hu- 
manity, in which it is enabled to rise to its most exalted 
heights, reach its greatest attainments, and effect its 
grandest achievements. 

HE carnal appetites and passions belong 
strictly and solely to the body. They are 
very important and valuable, and were given 
to us for special, v/ise, and noble purposes 
and uses. The whole of the mighty and magnificent 
fabric of domestic, social, and political life, in all their 
different ramifications, various modifications, natural 
relations and changes, uses and abuses, is founded, 
built up, and established upon them in this present 




26 Man An Eternal Probationer. 



mode of existence. But they are temporal and tran- 
sient in their nature and duration. Therefore, at the 
death and in the dissolution and decay of the body, 
they cease to be. They are then completely abol- 
ished. And this is clearly what Jesus means to teach 
when he says to the Sadducees : 

The sons oi this world (Greek, this age, or lifetime) marry, 
and are given in marriage: but they that are accounted wor- 
thy to attain to that world (Greek, tliat age, ar endless life), and 
the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given 
in marriage : for neither can they die any more : for they are 
equal unto the angels: and are the sons of God, being sons 
of the resurrection. 

Then, according to this most expressive declaration 
of our Lord, these carnal endowments are peculiar 
and merely incidental to the body, and must molder 
away in the lifeless dust of the dull earth, never to 
come up again from the darkness of the grave and 
cold obstruction of death. 



IHE marv'elous mental faculties and intellec- 
I tual powers, all of them, are located in the 
j soul. And these amazing gifts, bestowed 
upon man's higher nature, must survive the 
disorganization of the body. To release the soul 
from the body is to set it free from the shackles and 
trammels of flesh and blood. It is to lift from it the 
heavy burdens of polluted m.orality. and turn it loose 
to expatiate and revel with unrestricted liberty and 
undiminished delight in the boundless fields of devout 
thought and hallowed contemplation, which will un- 
fold themselves in perennial beauty to its unflagging 




Man An Eternal Probationer. 27 



energies and tireless activities. But while pent up in 
the narrow chambers of the body, it is pulled down to 
the low, groveling, base, and perishing things of this 
earth. And thus it is that the body humiliates the 
soul. 

LL the religious tendencies and susceptibili- 
ties, the worshiping capacities, possessions, 
and enjoyments, found in the highest nature 
and life of man, are the inherent properties 
and essential principles of his spirit. And it is the 
spirit in man, rather than his soul or body, which dif- 
ferentiates him from the mere animal creation about 
him. And it is that also which brings him into con- 
stant communion with Almighty God, his Maker, and 
associates him with the higher spiritual orders of eter- 
nity. The angels of heaven count it an honor con- 
ferred upon them to be allowed to visit him in his 
earthty home and look after his interests as the right- 
ful claimant of salvation and eternal life. 

Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to do serv- 
ice for the sake of them that shall inherit salvation? 



OW the history of man shows that sin with 
him generally commences in his somatic na- 
ture. The animal appetites and passions 
are fruitful sources of much trouble to him. 
They are the seas upon whose stormy waters he is 
most frequently wrecked and lost. 

The first act of disobedience indulged in was com- 
mitted by the soul under the impulse and force of the 





28 Man An Eternal Probationer. 



fascinated desire and bewildered sense of sight and 
taste in the body, wrought up to the highest pitch of 
fatal venture by the beguiling deception and danger- 
ous allurements of the wicked one. And through the 
blighting influences of that most unhappy transaction 
the beautiful, fresh, fragrant flowers of man's bright 
Eden-home withered away, and the soft, beaming, 
blue skies, bending in lovely brilliancy over the fad- 
ing Paradise of his innocent delights, grew excessively 
dark with the gathering and spreading clouds of 
threatened evils, to be poured out upon him and his 
posterity in constant showers of misfortunes and 
troubles to the end of time; and perhaps long after- 
wards. 

And when the old, crafty, wily, and skillful enemy 
to all good attempted to decoy the divine Son of Mary 
from the lofty paths of virtue into the devious and de- 
structive ways of sin, he tried to conceal carefully the 
demoniacal design which he had in view under the 
specious but false show of tender, sympathetic con- 
cern, and artfully addressed the tempting solicita- 
tions and suggestions to him through the clamoring 
appeals of a powerful appetite, which was enraged by 
protracted hunger. Nor did his chosen course of 
attack evince anything like weakness or ignorance 
upon the part of the tempter. He sought the ruin of 
humanity; and, though foiled in his wicked effort to 
accomplish it, he cleverly struck it at its weakest and 
most vulnerable point. Generally with shrewdness, 
and too often with success, he makes his assaults 
upon man's lowest and vilest nature. He knows 
well the surest and easiest way to victory — and he 
takes it. 



Man An Eternal Probationer. 29 



HE recovery of man from sin and his restora- 
tion to the favor and friendship of God in- 
variably begin in his pneumatic nature. 
The very possibility of salvation and eternal 
life is confined to the spirit of man. And the Spirit 
of God is the only power that can quicken the spirit 
of man into newness of life, when it is dead through 
trespasses and sins. The Holy Spirit, through the 
spirit of man, operates upon his soul; and then, 
through the soul, reaches his body. 



OW the psychical nature of man is the place 
of general rendezvous, where the carnal 
and spiritual forces in him come together 
in fearful contention as to what shall be his 
doom. It is the great battle ground upon which vice 
and virtue meet in fiercest conflict, the one striving to 
win the victory over the other. And too often vice 
defeats virtue. Virtue frequently meets with disas- 
trous failure where it ought to be crowned with per- 
fect triumph. 

But death comes at last, and all this is changed. 
Only think of the incalculable advantages and ben- 
efits which may be realized when the spirit of man, in- 
corporated in the soul, which has been reHeved of the 
cumbersome body, shall stand out in the clear, as- 
similating light of the unveiled presence of his Father, 
the God of infinite mercy and compassion, looking into 
his smiling countenance; and at the same time, feel- 
ing the strong attraction of the benign face and lov- 
ing heart of the gentle Saviour, and without the hin- 
drances of frail, fallen flesh and blood ; and with all 
the tender, melting, and helpful influences of the 





30 



Man An Eternal Probationer. 



atonement at hand; and the Holy Spirit willing, 
ready, and anxiously waiting to conduct him through 
sincere repentance and fxducial trust into the trans- 
porting raptures of pardon, peace, and purity. In 
the contemplation of this ecstatic vision, who can con- 
ceive or tell the grand results and glorious develop- 
ments which such an hour may bring forth? SubHm- 
est scenes of hope rise up to greet the free and inno- 
cent indulgence of fascinated fancy. We look for- 
ward, and are entranced with unspeakable delight. 

It is sadly true that the wild and almost ungovern- 
able propensities and proclivities of man's physical na- 
ture toward evil prove to be to him a boihng mael- 
strom of numberless perils, whose devouring vortex 
of whirling sensual gratification, like rushing waters, 
svvceps away his spiritual fortunes and hopes with 
raging and well-nigh resistless fury. But at last the 
end comes, and life's fitful fever is over. And so it 
may finally turn out that even dreaded death is a real 
benediction to man rather than the dark parenthesis 
in the mournful history of the race that it is habitually 
looked upon as being. Things are not always in fact 
what they seemi to be. Sometimes, as we may find 
out hereafter, our best blessings are sent to us, even 
by the soft hand of love, in gloomy disguise. 

God moves in a mysterious way 
His wonders to perform. 

E may pause long enough here to dispose of 
a disturbing question, which will very likely 
present itself in a troublesome form to some 
thoughtful minds. It may be asked with a 
degree of plausibility. Is not this line of reasoning 




Man An Eternal Probationer. 31 



bringing us dangerously close to the teachings of 
unconditional universaHsm? We answer positively, 
and without hesitation, N^o. That which we hold is far 
from being universalism. What we are advocating 
is simply the divine plan of human salvation as taught 
by Jesus Christ himself, according to the reports of the 
evangeHsts as preserved and handed down to us by 
them in the gospels. Truly it does mean universal 
salvation in the sense that all men will be saved ulti- 
mately on the one and only condition of pardon, which 
is faith in the name of the Son of God, our only and 
all-sufificient Saviour. No man can be saved at any 
time, anywhere, or on any conditions who does not 
believe on him. But whosoever believes on him with 
all his heart, as he is required to do in the New Testa- 
ment Scriptures, must be saved, is obliged to be saved, 
is saved, whether in time or eternity, whether on earth 
or in perdition. Faith in Jesus Christ brings salvation 
to the penitent soul with infinite certainty. 

And it is generally conceded now that man is en- 
dowed with perfect freedom of will. And if that be 
true, he certainly must retain the ability and right to 
believe or disbelieve as long as he exists. 

Then the great question at issue is as to whether he 
will, at any period in the everlasting ages of the future 
submit himself willingly to God through faith and be 
saved, or voluntarily persist in impenitency and madly 
continue to suffer the agonies of damnation. The ca- 
pacity and privilege to pursue either of these diverse 
courses for himself, according to his own choosing, 
clearly seems secured to him forever. There is but lit- 
tle if any room left for doubt in this matter. 



32 Man An Eternal Probationer. 



OW Calvinism tells us, with unwavering con- 
fidence, that the elect, the exact number of 
whom is so definitely fixed in the determi- 
nate counsel and foreknowledge of God that 
it can neither be increased nor diminished, were re- 
deemed unconditionally. Therefore, they— and only 
they — will be saved. So there need be no fear, as 
there can be no doubt, about their final glorification 
in heaven. They are as sure of their bright crowns, 
if this doctrine be reliable, as if they were already 
shining vvdth dazzling light around their triumphant 
brows. And be it remembered that they are to re- 
ceive them, not because they have won them by obe- 
dience and faithful service to their Lord, but simply 
because they belong to the favored few — God's own 
elect children. 

Universalism, in its unrestricted sense, which is 
merely the extension and expansion of Calvinism, af- 
firms with the fullest assurance that all men are al- 
ready saved unconditionally. And hence it teaches 
that all punishment for sin is in this Hfe, and that all 
men enter immediately into a state of endless happi- 
ness at death. 

Of course these two adverse systems of soteriol- 
ogy represent the extremest notions in regard to the 
matter. The former contains the narrowest and the 
latter the widest conception that has yet been formed 
concerning the work of Christ. And it is, to say the 
very least of it, worthy of notice that the theology^ 
v/hich at best seeks to save but a meager portion of 
mankind has found a great many mxore admirers and 
advocates than the one which proposes to save all 
without the loss of any. There seems to be a native 




Man An Eternal Probationer. 33 



proneness and readiness among men to expect con- 
demnation for their fellows, rather than pardon. It is 
very difficult to understand why this should be so, as 
it is in direct and hopeless antagonism with both rea- 
son and revelation. 

And these two systems, when brought into con- 
nection with the doctrine of the atonement, present it 
alike to us as being purely a commercial transaction. 
They claim that "J^sus paid it all" when he died upon 
the cross. And in their estimation the beneficiaries 
have been rescued from all danger, and are not fur- 
ther liable to penal execution in any respect whatever, 
so far as the future is concerned. 



UT there is another phase of universalism 
which demands a brief observation. It is 
known as restorationism. It has attracted 
no little attention. It has acquired a wide- 
spread popularity. It is a most plausible theory. It 
is held and taught in it that bad men must suffer in 
the future world for their sins to the entire satisfaction 
of violated law. It is also contended that the punish- 
ment will be carefully meted out in exact proportion 
to the real turpitude and demerit of the crimes which 
have been committed, both as to severity and contin- 
uance. These ostensible restrictions and limitations 
greatly commend the pleasing notion to many honest 
and well-informed people. 

But after all it reminds one very much of the Ro- 
man Catholic purgatory which has obtained such a 
strong hold and spread so extensively in that great 
Church; a succinct but very clear and strong state- 
3 




34 Man An Eternal Probationer. 



ment of which we have furnished us by the discontent- 
ed and restless ghost of Hamlet's murdered father, in 
which Shakespeare represents it as saying to the hor- 
rified young prince : 

I am thy father's ghost, 

Doomed for a certain term to walk the night, 
And for the day confined to fast in fires, 
Till the foul crimes done in the days of my nature 
Are burned and purged away. 

A complete refutation of this august and ancient 
conception, and deception as well, is readily found in 
the palpable fact that punishment in itself can never, 
/ under any circumstances or conditions, purchase par- 
don, or in any other way procure it for the unfortunate 
victim. It possesses no such magical properties or 
meritorious principles — never has, and never will. 



^^^HIRULY the nature and duration of the sufiPer- 
^^^^ ing to which the perversely wicked must be 
1^1^^ consigned after death make one of the most 
important problems that has ever engaged 
the attention of man. He cannot afford to treat it 
with indifference or neglect. Yet in his application to 
this matter he appears to have belabored and bewil- 
dered himself with a mighty multitude of inconsistent, 
discordant, and conflicting opinions which cannot be 
brought into anything like harmony either with Scrip- 
ture or common sense. Now this is altogether un- 
fortunate, unnecessary, and ought not to be. For di- 
vine revelation certainly has endeavored to make it 
perfectly plain in all its bearings to human reason. 
And this should suffice. 



Man An Eternal Probationer. 35 



But the trouble at last with man is found in the de- 
plorable fact that he is disposed to indulge too freely 
in wild notions and extravagant expressions about 
what God must do with stubborn sinners when he 
comes to deal with them in the future world. And 
often to his mind all grades, degrees, and distinctions 
of sin and punishment are completely blotted out. 
And so he easily persuades himself that the Lord will 
be compelled to employ the severest measures in the 
mildest case of an ordinary sinner to meet, in a mod- 
erate way, the demands of relentless justice. With 
him, it is to all alike consummate ruin and the hottest 
hell forever. And hence he talks fluently and flippant- 
ly about the omnipotent God being fully aroused, 
thoroughly enraged against the sinner, and determined 
to wreak eternal vengeance upon him in the inextin- 
guishable fires of his own insatiable wrath. His mor- 
bid and excited imagination is filled with the most 
frightful pictures of the Almighty burning with an- 
ger toward a world of ruined sinners. And in this pe- 
culiar state of mind he carefully ransacks the whole 
realm of human language for words and terms of the 
strongest meaning, and straightway presses them into 
his service, that he may be able to present in the most 
graphic and impressive manner the Lord of majesty 
and glory drawing upon the exhaustless resources of 
his omniscience that he may devise methods of in- 
finite torture, and exerting his untiring energies to 
inflict intolerable pain upon the disobedient and of- 
fending children of men. And it is strange that it does 
not occur to him that the faintest movement of such 
an immense tornado of divine fury as he describes 
would, in the nature of things, in despite of all oppos- 



36 Man An Eternal Probationer. 

ing obstructions, sweep an entire universe of helpless 
transgressors out of existence. Yea, an all-powerful 
Being so desperately incensed as he depicts him would 
most likely overthrow the framework of nature, pull 
down the dome of creation, and leave the whole wreck 
in a mass of hopeless ruin. 

And to remind one holding such extreme views that 
they are harsh and irrational, and therefore objection- 
able, is simply to call forth from him other remarks 
equally as immoderate. For instance, he will not 
hesitate to tell you that our heavenly Father will im- 
part to lost souls an ever-increasing capacity for suf- 
fering that they may endure the surpassing and con- 
stantly intensifying agonies of perdition. Now in all 
such representations, or, to speak more properly, 
misrepresentations, God is seen by his creatures as if 
he were taking a grim pleasure in the gloomy failure 
and disappointment of the works of his own hands. 
And to a serious, devout mind they look like ugly cari- 
catures upon the unerring wisdom and faultless good- 
ness of a God whose nature and name is Everlasting 
Love. And so they become painfully shocking to the 
finer sensibiHties of redeemed humanity. 

There is good ground for supposing that punish- 
ment for sin in the future state of existence will not 
differ materially from what it is in this life. And that 
seems to be the most reasonable conclusion that has 
yet been reached in regard to the matter. Then we 
may safely accept it as a reHable proposition that the 
fiercest pangs and bitterest cries of lost souls come 
from the compunction of a guilty conscience, just as 
we often witness and sometimes experience in this 
life, and which occasionally becomes so intense and 



Man An Eternal Probationer. 37 



unbearable that it drives us into fatal madness, as 
seen in the case of Judas Iscariot and Lady Macbeth. 
There are many similar examples. It is that incon- 
ceivable remorse which must ever arise from a keen 
sense of guilt. And it is sure to result in insufferable 
mental anguish that overwhelms the soul with de- 
spair. There is no kind of sorrow comparable to it. 
It far exceeds all forms of physical torture which can 
be inflicted upon the body. And from this considera- 
tion it follows that the commonly received idea that 
external agencies of a material character will be em- 
ployed upon the corporeal nature of man, for the pur- 
pose of producing or increasing the sufferings which 
he is undergoing in the world of woe, must be incor- 
rect. And for that reason it ought to be abandoned. 
It finds no recognition in the Bible or in the wide do- 
main of sound reason. ' ^ 



S long as men continue to sin against God, 
they must suffer the severe penalty of vio- 
lated law. And they had as well make up 
their minds to accept the situation, hard as 
it is, or change their course of conduct. The only al- 
ternative is submission or suffering. 

Sin is the great disturbing element in the divine 
government. And it must always be attended by sor- 
row and pain, by death and hell. 

When the whole world shall forsake all manner of 
evil, and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ with an im- 
plicit, fiducial trust, all sorrow and suffering must 
cease, and perdition can be no more. Then heaven 
shall reign without a rival. That grand jubilee of the 




38 Man An Eternal Probationer. 



world's final release from the slavery of sin and sal- 
vation to God, which has been promised in prophecy, 
fervently prayed for, and fondly expected through all 
the years of the past, may still be far off in the un- 
formed and unwritten annals of the ages yet to be ; 
but it must certainly come. God's infallible word is 
pledged for it; therefore, it cannot fail. So we wait 
with perfect patience and joyful resignation its assured 
arrival. 

Patience and resignation are the pillars 
Of human peace on earth. 



PART II. 



The Scriptural View of the Subject. 

IT is our purpose under this head of the dis- 
cussion to notice, first, those passages of the 

\ Bible that favor the position which we have 

assumed in the matter, and afterwards those 
which are thought to be in opposition to it. And we 
will make it our main object to be clear and concise. 

We shall take our proof-texts from the edition of 
the American Revised Version, and also make our 
references to it, for we regard it as the purest and best 
translation of the Holy Scriptures which has yet ap- 
peared. 



HE ancient Hebrews believed steadfastly in a 
hereafter for man. Their writers in the Old 
Testament delivered themselves in no un- 
certain terms in respect to his survival after 
death and his existence beyond the grave. So they 
have left no room for anything Hke reasonable doubt 
in this matter. But their notions of rewards and pun- 
ishments in the future world for the deeds done in the 
body — if they had any at all — ^were vague, indefinite, 
and very misty. The only chastisements of which they 
make mention, as being visited upon men for their 
right-doing or wrong-doing, are confined mainly, if 
not entirely, to this life, and end with it. They do not 
appear to have anticipated anything special after 
death. 

(39) 





40 Man An Eternal Probationer. 



In their thought all men, whether good or bad, 
when they passed away from the earth, were collected 
together in the same place with their ancestors and 
kindred. Jehovah sent, through Huldah the proph- 
etess, to Josiah, the tender-hearted and good king, 
saying : 

Therefore, behold, I will gather thee to thy fathers, and 
thou Shalt be gathered to thy grave in peace, neither shall 
thine eyes see all the evil which I will bring upon this 
place. 

This message from God to his faithful servant is 
full of affection and compassion. It promises him 
that kind friends shall lay his lifeless body away ten- 
derly and with becoming ceremonies in the royal 
sepulchers at Jerusalem, and assures him that the 
Lord will himself take charge of the liberated spirit, 
and leave it rejoicing with loved ones in the happy as- 
sociations of the great beyond. 

Now the name of the place where all the dead are 
supposed to meet is known in Hebrew as Sheol, which 
is regarded as being a vast subterranean cavern. It 
is thus named because it is thought to have been taken 
originally from a word which means to dig, to ex- 
cavate, to hollow out. And in the Septuagint version 
it is almost uniformly rendered by the well-known 
term Hades, meaning the invisible and unknown 
land; and so in the Greek tongue it has a correspond- 
ing import to the Hebrew expression. 

And in both languages these significant words are 
used to denote the unseen world of departed human 
spirits, which is represented to us as a lonesome land 
of dense darkness, filled with disorder and confusion, 
slumbering under heavy clouds in the awful shadows 



Man An Eternal Probationer. 41 



of death, and under the dominion of an unbroken night 
of deepest gloom, upon which no moon ever shines, 
star gleams, or morning breaks. 

Are not my days few? cease then, 

And let me alone, that I may take comfort a little, 

Before I go whence I shall not return, 

Even to the land of darkness and of the shadow of death; 

The land dark as midnight; 

The land of the shadow of death, without any order, 
And where the light is as midnight 

It must be confessed that this is a melancholy de- 
scription of the home of the soul when dismissed from 
its frail, dissolving tenement of clay. But it should 
be borne in mind that it comes from one of the oldest 
books in existence; and also that it represents the 
earHest conceptions that came into the untaught 
minds of men of 

That undiscovered country, from whose bourn 
No traveler returns. 

By all means it should be read and considered in 
connection with that bright and cheerful disclosure 
which St. John makes to us of that happy realm in 
which our loved ones are joyously meeting, anxiously 
waiting, and hopefully watching for our coming to join 
them in the fair regions of that delightful Beulah land 
of love and union, where death never comes and 
parting is no more. 

And I heard a voice from heaven saying, Write, Blessed 
are the dead who die in the Lord from henceforth : yea, saith 
the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors; for their 
works follow with them. 

We receive this most precious proclamation direct- 
ly from heaven. It is necessarily divine in its origin 



42 Man An Eternal Probationer. 



as it could have been conceived by no finite mind. 
It was, at its deliverance, a simple, oral announce- 
ment, intelligently made in the famiHar words of 
human speech, uttered in the entrancing strains of 
the soft, sweet voice of redeemed humanity. How 
resplendently shine the saints in glory all clad in the 
lustrous robes of immortality ! And in this instance 
the beloved disciple was so completely overpowered 
by the dazzling appearance and bright manifestation 
of the majestical messenger from Paradise — "the re- 
vealed abode of spirits in beatitude" — that he very 
naturally mistook him for his divine Lord, and was 
in the act of worshiping him when he was forbidden 
to do so, as he tells us : 

And I John am he that heard and saw these things. And 
when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship before the feet 
of the angel that showed me these things. And he saith 
unto me, See thou do it not: I am a fellow-servant with 
thee and with thy brethren the prophets, and vnth them 
that keep the words of this book: worship God. 

But the heavenly herald, while the sublime enunci- 
ation was still lingering with fascinating power upon 
the enraptured soul of the apocalyptic seer, ordered 
him to put it in the more permanent form of writing, 
that it might be preserved and handed down the ages, 
and so become the common heritage of consolation to 
all sorrowing men. 

And this strong afHrmation, brought to us from the 
veiled land by one of its inhabitants, so positive and 
comforting in itself, is also clearly confirmed by the 
Holy Spirit, who assures us that all who die in the 
Lord enter immediately into a state of conscious and 
continued rest and happiness. It leads us to beheve 
that they fully understand, properly appreciate, and 



Man An Eternal Probationer. 43 



constantly enjoy their condition and its beautiful sur- 
roundings. It is true that they are not yet crowned 
in heaven ; but they are gathered safely with the grand 
sacramental hosts of the pure and good of earth into 
the glorious intermediate state which God has pro- 
vided for them. There they are no longer troubled 
with their bodily infirmities, afflictions, and sorrows. 
Blessed condition, in which 

Flesh and sin no more control 
The sacred pleasures of the soul. 

And having died in the Lord, they are with him to 
stay evermore in his immediate presence. They see 
the King in his beauty. 

And there are other things which contribute largely 
to the swelling and ev&r-rising tides of their bliss. 
They were good and faithful servants in this Hfe ; and 
therefore it is said of them, "for their works follow 
with them." Not only in sacred memory; however, 
that is certainly eminently true of them. And if the 
remembrance of evil performances in this world in- 
creases the tortures of the lost in the next, is it not 
reasonable to suppose that a fond recollection of sac- 
rifices made and righteousness practiced in the service 
of God in the interests of humanity will enlarge the 
sphere of the pleasures of the saved, even in the beati- 
fying presence of their divine Lord? 

According to this scripture, whatever a man does 
for the glory of God and the promotion of the good of 
his race not only contributes to, but really constitutes, 
his happiness in time and eternity. But everything of 
value in this line of action is always the direct pro- 
duction and result of a living, constant, and active 
faith in God. And this valuable quotation further 



44 Man An Eternal Probationer. 



suggests to our minds the pleasing thought that our 
sainted ones, in their new and changed relations and 
associations, have not lost sight of us, whom they 
have left for a while, weeping in our desolation, 
weighed down with the cares and burdens of life; but 
that they do still feel an abiding interest in our wel- 
fare, and ever stand in readiness to afford us all the 
assistance at their command, that we may successfully 
"fight the good fight of the faith," and "lay hold on 
the life eternal." 



OW as to what the place itself into which our 
friends and loved ones have entered may 
have to do with their beatifi.ed condition in 
bringing it about, is indeed a question which 
calls for our most serious consideration. It is true 
that we have already turned our attention, in a meas- 
ure, to this matter in the first part of this discussion. 
But there our object was simply to show that natural 
reason and common sense intimate to us that it is the 
state of mind that one is in that produces real happi- 
ness or wretchedness. And now we come to make 
the contention that it is also in perfect agreement 
with the teaching of the Bible ; and, in fact, that it is 
the only doctrine which is held by that Book in connec- 
tion with the interesting inquiry. 

There are many who seem to think that it is the 
place with its correspondents which creates their bliss 
or makes their misery. And hence they are ever 
ready to remind us of the fact that the righteous are 
spoken of as being placed in Paradise, which is looked 
upon as a beautiful garden of ecstatic delight. They 




Man An Eternal Probationer. 45 



pitch their tents on celestial plains and camp on heav- 
enly ground. The land is fair, bright, and serene. 

Of all that is most beauteous — imaged there 
In happier beauty; more pellucid streams, 
An ampler ether, a diviner air, 

And fields invested with purpureal gleams ; 
Climes which the sun, who sheds the brightest day- 
Earth knows, is all unworthy to survey. 

They also tell us that the wicked are represented as 
being driven away into Tartarus, which is described 
as a place of darkness and distress. 

No sun e'er gilds the gloomy horrors there; 
No cheerful gales refresh the lazy air. 

And our Lord himself alludes to these diverse di- 
visions and allotments in the ample regions of Hades 
when he promised the penitent and beheving thief 
upon the cross that he should be with him that day in 
Paradise. But following the plain teaching of divine 
revelation throughout, in respect to this subject, we 
are drawn to the conclusion that the condition cre- 
ates the place, and not the place the condition. And 
the words of Jesus in this instance clearly imply this. 

The other malefactor, who was being crucified at 
the same time, remained unyielding, impenitent, and 
unbelieving. So he must have died unforgiven. And 
with all his flagrant crimes blushing upon him, he also 
passed along with his praying, trusting, pardoned com- 
panion into Hades. But that unseen world of disem- 
bodied spirits must have been as gloomy to him as 
it was glorious to his former friend and associate in 
the daring, terrible, defiant wickedness of this life, 
who had just been saved by confiding in the precious, 
purifying blood of the slain Victim of Calvary, and was 



46 Man An Eternal Probationer. 



allowed the privilege of going on with his Saviour 
into the happiness of heaven, as the first trophy of 
the crucifixion. It was the difference in the moral 
states of the men that made Hades Paradise to one 
and Tartarus to the other. And thus it was that the 
two robbers, one justified and saved, the other con- 
demned and lost, must have entered the dominions of 
the dead together. 

The social shades the same dark journey go 
And join each other in the realms below. 

There they may dwell together, mixing and min- 
gling with each other as they were wont to do while 
in this world, without regard to their moral distinc- 
tions. This is not a mere theory. It is a revealed 
fact, based on the direct disclosures of the word of 
God. 

Suppose we read carefully and weigh well that 
marvelous narration of the last interview which Saul, 
the fallen king of Israel, had with Samuel, the faithful 
prophet of Jehovah, in this life. When the astonished 
witch of Endor had, unexpectedly to herself, called 
from the silent habitations of Sheol the serene and 
pensive apparition of the good man, he administered 
a severe but deserved rebuke to the apostate mon- 
arch for his willful disobedience and inexcusable alien- 
ation from the Lord ; then proceeded to announce to 
him his rapidly approaching fate, and briefly closed 
the startling deliverance with the following unwel- 
come declaration : 

And to-morrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me. 

This awful prediction of the revoked and disquieted 
prophet was literally fulfilled in every particular, ac- 
cording to the history which we have of the case. 



; 



Man An Eternal Probationer. 47 



For the next day the contending forces came together 
in fatal clash of arms. And so it was, Saul and his 
sons, while fighting bravely and fiercely, went down 
at last upon the bloody heights of Mount Gilboa. To- 
gether they passed away from the sinking ranks of the 
raging battle into the spacious regions of Sheol, that 
general receptacle of all disembodied human souls, 
whether great or small, good or bad, old or young, 
saved or lost. 

Now think of the reckless, daring, idolatrous, and 
abandoned Saul, with the pure, pious, noble, chivalric, 
and intrepid Jonathan, and his other two but less re- 
nowned sons, Abinadab and Malchi-shua, all of them 
with holy Samuel in the vast realm of the dead, in 
which all the past generations of men have been pro- 
miscuously and indiscriminately collected from the 
gone-by ages. 

But does not our Lord teach, in the parable of the 
rich man and Lazarus, that the two departments of 
Hades are distinct and wholly separated from each 
other? Well, let us examine what he says about it : 

And in Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torments, and 
seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 

A little cool, deliberate, and dispassionate reflec- 
tion ought to satisfy any one that the significant ex- 
pression, "afar of¥," cannot in this special instance be 
applied to material space in the ordinary acceptation 
of the term. Here it is used simply to designate spir- 
itual association. And we find Moses employs a simi- 
lar phrase in the same sense. Thus we see the unity 
of design in Inspiration which pervades the whole 
system of revelation. When Abraham was walk- 
ing along in the way with the Lord, and convers- 



48 Man An Eternal Probationer. 



ing with him about the imminent destruction of the 
cities of the Plain, the impending doom of which had 
just been revealed to him, he determined at once to 
intercede for them with prayer and supplication ; and 
it is said of him that he "drew near." Certainly it does 
not mean a physical approach. Clearly it denotes a 
close, conscious, spiritual contact. 

And in the case of the rich man and Lazarus, we 
are plainly informed of the fact that they are near 
enough to look readily into each other's faces, easily 
recognize one another, and converse familiarly to- 
gether. We see and hear them in close conversation. 
But it may be asked, How about the yawning chasm 
which disconnects and severs them? There is no 
doubt about the chasm. It is most certainly there. 

And besides all this, between us and you there is a great 
gulf fixed, that they that would pass from hence to you may 
not be able, and that none may cross over from thence to us. 

This is strong symbolic speech. But it is none the 
less true and reliable for that. And the very same 
gulf exists between good and bad men in this life. 
And it sunders them as effectually here as is does 
there. And it can never be crossed over. But it can 
be closed up; and by that means it can be removed 
entirely out of the way. This can be readily accom- 
plished by bringing about a change in character. 
Then it follows that the solitary possibility of estab- 
lishing anything like spiritual union or communion 
between righteous and sinful men is by eflfecting a 
radical change of character in the one or the other 
party. And in no other way can they be brought to- 
gether, either in this life or beyond the grave. They 
can never bridge over or leap across the chasm. The 



Man An Eternal Probationer. 49 



only chance is to close it up, which can be easily done 
by a change of character. There is no very serious 
difficulty in changing one's character, and by that 
means closing up the impassable gulf. 

And this is clearly what Jesus intends to teach in 
this part of the parable. For his language applies 
with equal force and propriety to persons in this life 
and that v/hich follows after death. All men in this 
world who, by penitency and faith, have earnestly 
sought God and found him in the pardon of their sins, 
may truthfully adopt apostolic language, and say, 
"We have passed out of death into life.'* In reality 
they have come out of hell into heaven. To "turn 
from darkness to light and from the power of Satan 
unto God," is a divine form of human speech, which 
contains the identical thought, and describes the very 
same process. Truly it is coming out of perdition 
and from under the dominion of Satan, into the king- 
dom of God and the fullness of his salvation. It re- 
quires this deep, thorough change in the character 
of the sinner to bring about the radical change in his 
condition. Nothing less will suffice, and nothing 
more is necessary to accomplish it, at any time or 
anyvv^here. For instance, what would it avail if you 
could exchange places between the rich man and 
Lazarus, without a corresponding change in their 
character? What could come out of it one way or 
another? Suppose it were possible for them to swap 
places. Could that alleviate the pain of the one or 
diminish the joy of the other? The rich man, without 
a perfect change of character, would continue to be 
tormented just as much if he were in the bosom of 
Abraham as where he is. And the happiness of Laz- 
4 



50 Man An Eternal Probationer. 



arus, while he maintains his integrity to God, would 
remain as full and complete as it is now, if he were 
put in the rich man's place. Nothing but an entire 
change of character can reverse the destinies of good 
or bad men in time or eternity. And another strong 
and convincing evidence of this fundamental truth, in 
addition to that v/hich has already been given, may be 
found in the obvious fact that Abraham's bosom and 
Paradise mean precisely the same thing in the Scrip- 
tures. And w^e all know that simply reclining on 
Abraham's bosom cannot, in itself, make any man 
happy. But to be pure and holy in heart and Hfe, as 
he was, can and will do it. Then to be in the bosom 
of Abraham, in the New Testament sense of the term, 
is to be associated with the grand old patriarch on ac- 
count of congeniality of soul and harmony of charac- 
ter. This makes Paradise ; but nothing else can do it. 



OiW these strange susceptibilities of man for 
happiness or misery, his absolute capability 
of changing his manner of life at will, and 
his interminable responsibility for the use or 
abuse of these truly wonderful endowments, place be- 
fore us one of the most profoundly interesting and in- 
structive of all the great problems wliich have been 
submitted to the mind of man for investigation. 

Know then thyself, presume not God to scan; 
The proper study of mankind is man. 

Then suppose we examine him in connection with the 
sacred Scriptures. Science is in total ignorance of 
this question and can give us no information what- 
ever about it. The Bible account of his origin, 




Man An Eternal Probationer. 51 



which is the only reliable one we have of the matter, 
is short, but altogether satisfactory. Here it is : 

And Jehovah God formed man of the dust of the ground, 
and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man 
became a living soul. 

Hence we have in man a compound and complex 
structure. He is a monogenetic being. That is to 
say, he is a unity, or only one in his personality, and 
the sole representative of his race or kind. All the 
multitudinous tribes and tongues of men, of every 
clime or color, sprang originally from the same primi- 
tive stock which is here spoken of. And this is what 
St. Paul thought and taught : 

And he (Jehovah God) made of one every nation of 
men to dwell on all the face of the earth, having determined 
their appointed seasons, and the bounds of their habitation. 

In his essence man is a duality, or a twofold some- 
thing. He strangely combines matter and spirit in 
his mysterious make-up. And the bringing together 
and uniting these two different substances in the per- 
son of man resulted in the production of another dis- 
tinct element in him, which is significantly denomina- 
ted the soul. 

Then man is a unity in his personality, as he is the 
only individual of his order in creation ; he is a duality 
in his substance, as he is made of matter and spirit ; 
and he is a trinity in his nature, as he has body, spirit, 
and soul. Thus inspiration has presented him to us 
tripartitely, and we deal with him accordingly. 

Now according to this fully confident scriptural as- 
sertion the entire human race, in all its widely different 
variety of color and wonderful adaptation and wise as- 
signment to climatic locations and influences, came 
from the very same parentage. 



52 Man An Eternal Probationer. 



And Jehovah God formed man of the dust of the ground. 

ERE our attention is called particularly to the 
production of the body of man. It consists 
of many bones of different sizes, lengths, 
shapes, and uses. They are all strong, 
smooth, and as white as ivory. Some of them are 
round, some are flattened, some are fluted, some are 
straight, and others are curved. But all of them are 
skillfully turned, suitably fitted together, and wisely 
adjusted to their various places, so as properly to con- 
stitute the substantial framework of the human body. 
They make a durable and safe support for it. 

Then there are the membranes, cartilages, liga- 
ments, and muscles, which are very strong and tough. 
They are so arranged and disposed of as to hold the 
different parts of the structure firmly and securely to- 
gether. And at the same time they give strength to 
all of the members and allow perfect freedom of ac- 
tion to the limbs. 

Next is the abundant supply of flesh which imparts 
to it roundness, fullness, comeliness, and exquisite 
beauty of form, and makes it God's beau ideal of phys- 
ical perfection. 

And there are the numerous blood vessels, arter- 
ies, veins, and capillaries for carrying on the wonder- 
ful circulation of the crimson tide of life, running 
through every part of it. 

V/e also have the immense expansion of that most 
marvelous network of mysteriously delicate and re- 
fined nerves, which is admirably distributed and in- 
geniously spread out over the entire surface of the 
body, and which is the seat of sensation itself. 

Finally, we have the pretty, smooth, soft, silken 




Man An Eternal Probationer. 53 



skin, perforated with millions of very small pores or 
minute openings which are so diminutive that they are 
invisible to the naked eye. And it serves as an ele- 
gant veil or covering for the whole physical man. 

And within the trunk and head we find securely in- 
closed and strongly protected the subtile, vital, and 
miraculous organs of circulation, respiration, diges- 
tion, and reasoning. 

Well may we all adopt the appropriate words of the 
devout psalmist, and exclaim with him: 

I will give thanks unto thee; for I am fearfully and won- 
derfully made. 

And breathed into his nostrils the breath of Hfe. 
F rendered literally according to the Hebrew, 
it would read "breath of lives" thus denot- 
ing the animal, intellectual, and religious 
lives in the man. We are strongly of the 
opinion that such is the thought which Inspiration 
desires to convey to us in this particular instance. 
And we think that the best evidence of the reliability 
of this position is contained in the fact that it is in per- 
fect harmony with the experience and observation of 
men in regard to these matters. We are perfectly 
conscious of the threefold life in ourselves and behold 
the same in others. 

But we are called upon here to consider the spirit 
of man as distinct from his body and soul. We find 
that it is neither a formation nor a creation. It is an 
inspiration. It is that Hfe-imparting and life-sustain- 
ing breath of Jehovah God himself which quickens 
the spirit of man, animates his soul, and gives vitality 
to his body. 




54 



Man An Eternal Probationer. 



Man is a very peculiar creature. As regards his 
substances, he is both earth-born and also heaven- 
born. He gets his "well-wrought body" from "the 
dust of the ground," but receives his deathless spirit 
from the divine breath of Jehovah God. So in re- 
ferring to the origin of his corporeal nature, he may 
correctly speak of "mother earth"; but when he means 
the source from which he obtained his spiritual nature, 
he must call God his "Father." And in this respect 
all men may confidently afiirm : 

The Spirit of God is in my nostrils. 
There is a spirit in man, 

And the breath of the Almighty giveth them understanding. 

This is the highest, the sublimest, and the most 
wonderful nature in man. And it entitles him to in- 
dubitable kinship with the eternal and infinite Spirit. 

And man became a living soul. 
HIS curious and inscrutable something is 
neither a formation, a creation, nor an in- 
spiration. It was not made for him, nor was 
it breathed into him. But it appears to be 
a resultant, which was brought about somehow by the 
incomprehensible combination of gross matter with 
the breath of the Lord. It is the effluence which 
flowed from the inflation of the breath of Jehovah God, 
which passed into the nostrils of man, and so came 
into contact with and took hold upon his physical 
nature as to form the essential and vital connection 
between his perishable body and immortal spirit, in 
consequence of v/hich he became a living, acting, talk- 
ing, responsible being. 




Man An Eternal Probationer. 55 



ROM this particular standpoint we may be 
able, in a measure at least, to untangle in- 
telligently the involved and intricate history 
of man in his association with the govern- 
ment of God over him and in him. His body having 
been taken from the dust of the ground, perhaps from 
the bright, ruddy, fresh virgin soil of Eden, he finds 
himself sorely and dangerously complicated with the 
afi'airs of this world. And it could not well be other- 
wise with him, as he is so closely and intimately re- 
lated to the earth. In many ways he is dependent upon 
it. He has to look to it for his support, comfort, and 
pleasure. He even gets his impressions and sensa- 
tions of life from it, through the organs of the body. 
These, having taken them up from the outer world 
about him, pass them along the nerves up to the brain, 
where the soul takes charge of them, manipulates 
tlicm into order, and weaves them into trains of 
thought and reasoning. And hence he is able to 
hold converse with his fellow-man and communica- 
tion with his God. And his spirit was breathed into 
his body from the mouth of Jehovah God ; he is very 
nearly related to him. And for this very reason he is 
brought into eternal contact and essential communion 
with him, not only as his Creator, but more especially 
as his Father. Therefore, the author of the Epistle 
to the Hebrews emphatically calls him ''the Father 
of spirits." And St. Paul, when preaching to the 
Athenians "in the midst of the Areopagus," concern- 
ing the same great truth, said, "For we are also his 
offspring." The classic apostle refers to Aratus and 
Kleanthes, Greek poets, and stamps the quotation 
with divine authority. 



56 Man An Eternal Probationer. 



LL of man's religious principles are in his 
spirit; all of his intellectual powers are in 
his soul; and all of his carnal appetites are 
in his body. And right here we find those 
vile and violent passions which St. Peter characterizes 
as "fleshly lusts, which war against the soul." 

And it is here in this region that we meet with the 
possibilities and dangers of many of the most com- 
mon and debasing sins of mankind. The evil ap- 
proaches to the soul are frequently found in the body. 

And St. James describes in a formal and definite way 
the course which sin usually takes in a man : 

Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of 
God; for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself 
tempteth no man: but each man is tempted, when he is 
drawn away by his own lust, and enticed. Then the lust, 
when it hath conceived, beareth sin: and the sin, when it is 
full grown, bringeth forth death. 

According to this explanation given by the apostle, 
the sinful act of disobedience of which he speaks com- 
mences in the innocent desires of the bodily appe- 
tites, halts in the reasoning faculties of the soul, and 
waits there for the final decision of the will. And if 
that should be given adversely, all is safe; but if it 
be determined favorably to the temptation, as soon as 
the wicked deed is done the stroke of death drops 
upon the spirit and it dies. Sin kills the spirit imme- 
diately. 

And on the other hand, the work of salvation can 
start nowhere else but in the spirit. The Holy Spir- 
it quickens the spirit of man by awakening his slum- 
bering conscience, which is the supreme faculty of the 
spirit, and then rushes straightway into the soul, and 




Man An Eternal Probationer. 57 



acting under the divine impulse impresses it with a 
sense of its guilt and danger and arouses it to serious, 
contrite thought about its unhappy condition, and 
anxiously expects the ultimate decision of the will, 
which must be given before spiritual life can be 
brought back to the sinful man. We offer the follow- 
ing scriptures in support of these views : 

It is the Spirit that giveth life. 

That which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 

It is here plainly and expressly taught that the Spir- 
it of God is the only life-imparting principle, and also 
that the spirit of man is the only life-receiving princi- 
ple. The Holy Spirit is the only power that can re- 
vivify the dead spirit in man and make it live again. 
And the only thing in man that is capable of being 
animated through the agency of the Holy Spirit is the 
spirit in him, which is itself divine. 

Nothing could be surer tlian that without the illumi- 
nating and sanctifying influence of the Holy Spirit 
upon the spirit of man he could not know, recognize, 
or appreciate God. He would remain as utterly igno- 
rant of all spiritual and eternal things as the lower ani- 
mal creation around him. Hence St. Paul says : 

Now the natural (Greek psychical, or English souUcal) 
man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God : for they are 
foolishness unto him ; and he cannot know them, because they 
are spiritually judged (Greek, examined). 

The apostle opens a wide and fearful gap here be- 
tvreen the spiritual man, in whom the Spirit of God 
reigns and rules supreme in all things — lifting his as- 
pirations to heaven and centering his desires in God — > 
and the natural man, whose soul and body alone are 
alive and active. 



Man An Eternal Probationer. 



But in such a man the mental faculties and intel- 
lectual powers are completely overridden and down- 
trodden by the carnal appetites and passions, while the 
spiritual, which is his best and highest nature, and is 
that which brings him into relationship with God and 
imperishable things, is dead. And hence his total ig- 
norance of, and stolid indifference toward, God, all 
heavenly things, and spiritual attainments. 

No man, even with the most capacious mind, en- 
dowed with the richest gifts and shining talents, and 
favored with the highest and most thorough culture, 
can, by searching, find out God. For he is not to be 
apprehended by any process of learning, human rea- 
soning, or comprehended by a simple intellectual 
grasp. To a m.an of this sort, the relation or rehearsal 
of a religious experience would be entirely unmeaning, 
or highly mythical, all the way through it, irom the 
bitterness of repentance to the transporting joys of 
regeneration. He would neither understand nor ap- 
preciate it. These things are spiritually examined 
and discerned. 

But while all this, and much more, is true in regard 
to the sad condition of the natural or soulical man, it is 
equally true at the same time that the most ordinary 
and illiterate man can, by a simple act of faith, which 
is done by a spiritual effort, become so well and fully 
acquainted with God as to know him perfectly and 
satisfactorily in the free remission of all his sins and 
the complete renewal of his nature. 

All that any man is required to do in order that he 
may become conscious of the fact that God is his ten- 
der, loving Father, is to submit himself uncondition- 
ally to him, and consent unreservedly to be saved 



Man An Eternal Probationer. 59 



through his eternal Son. Let him do this, and then the 
Holy Spirit will regenerate his spirit, purify his soul, 
and sanctify his body, so that in answer to the apos- 
tolic prayer the whole man, in every part, will "be pre- 
served entire, without blame at the coming of our 
Lord Jesus Christ." 



OW the discrimination which we have been 
maintaining and emphasizing between the 
soul and spirit of man is not a chimerical dis- 
tinction, nor is it an arbitrary division ; but it 
is real, essential, and vital. The trichotomous nature 
of man is the doctrine of inspiration, and prevails 
throughout the Bible. Dichotomy is the teaching of 
science and human philosophy. And it is true only 
when applied to him in respect to the two substances 
of which he is composed. But trichotomy relates par- 
ticularly to the three factors or natures which he 
combines in himself. And as we have already seen, 
it is clearly set forth and divinely declared in connec- 
tion with the formation of man. Really it antedates 
his actual construction. And it had its origin in the 
secret deliberations of the deep and impenetrable 
counsels of the persons of the Godhead in conference 
with each other. 

And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our 
likeness. 

Image and likeness are not used as synonymous 
terms. They are different words, and are not intend- 
ed to mean the same thing. "Image'* belongs to the 
soul, and "likeness" applies to the spirit. The one is 
fixed, the other is progressive. 




6o 



Man An Eternal Probationer. 



The magnificent intellectual endowments of the 
soul of man in some sort and some sense are an 
abridgment of the attributes of the Godhead. With 
all of their necessary limitations and restrictions, they 
bear a strong resemblance and striking correspond- 
ence to the infinite perfections of their divine Author, 
the Creator of all things. 

But it is the spirit of man which enables him to be- 
come more and more hke God, and to approach closer 
and closer to him forever. And it is this preeminent 
property in his most intricately combined natures 
which perpetually ennobles all his other faculties, pow- 
ers, and principles. 

The virgin Mary, in the subUme Magnificat, ob- 
serves, in the most impressive manner, this necessary 
and notable difference between the soul and the spirit : 

My soul doth magnify the Lord, 

And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. 

The peculiar form of this expression is by no means 
accidental. It evidently is the work of inspiration. 
The unaided human mind would never have thought 
of it. 

It rightfully belongs to the province of the soul 
to magnify the Lord. In a grand intellectual way, it 
can discover and decipher the wonders of the universe. 
It can, with ever-expanding admiration, revel and re- 
joice in the grandeur and glory of all the mighty works 
of the Lord, as they are manifested in the vastness and 
majesty of the physical creation. But there the mat- 
ter is obliged to come to an end. The soul can reach 
no further nor rise any higher. It has gone to the ut- 
most of its capacity. And here it must stop. 

The Spirit, however, is so indued with divine abili- 



Man An Eternal Probationer. 6i 



ties and furnished with infinite competencies that it 
can, in harmony with the original designs and pur- 
poses of Him who intrusted man with it, ahvays re- 
joice in a bhssful consciousness of the abiding and per- 
vading presence of Jehovah God within it, attended 
by uninterrupted and interminable communion with 
him in all the fullness of complete salvation. And 
hence it seeks and strives through the influence of the 
Holy Spirit to maintain, without disturbance or inter- 
mission, its indispensable connection with heaven, and 
so evermore enlarge its sphere of usefulness and in- 
crease its happiness. 

But the soul is situated differently. It is brought 
into unbroken contact and very perilous relations with 
the world through the body. And it is so constituted 
that it is constantly intoxicated with the dangerous at- 
tractions, deceptions, and allurements of this Ufe. It 
is generally found busily toiling and struggling to se- 
cure food, raiment, wealth, and whatever else that can 
in any way imaginable contribute to its comfort, pleas- 
ure, luxury, pride, or personal aggrandizement. Out 
of these unfortunate matters arises directly that fierce 
and fearful conflict which is going on between the soul 
and body of every man who earnestly desires to be 
good and honestly endeavors to do right, which is 
so accurately and graphically described by St. Paul: 

For I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, dwelleth no 
good thing: for to will is present with me, but to do that 
which is good is not. For the good which I would I do not : 
but the evil which I would not, that I practice. 

What a deplorable dilemma to be in ! And yet, 
with all its inconceivable embarrassment and mortifi- 
cation, it enters largely into the experience of all men 



62 



Man An Eternal Probationer. 



who are sincerely striving to be pure and righteous. 

And owing to the close, intimate, tender, and sympa- 
thetic union which naturally exists between them, 
the influence of the body upon the soul must, under 
all circumstances, be tremendous; and at certain 
times it becomes almost irresistible. The body is 
made dependent upon the productions of the earth for 
its subsistence, comfort, and enjoyment. And this 
state of things opens up a fruitful source of many dan- 
gers and grievous troubles to the soul. For it must 
assist the body in which it is sojourning by planning, 
scheming, and managing for it, so that it may be suc- 
cessful in obtaining these things in sufficient quanti- 
ties to answer its necessary demands. And it will re- 
quire no small amount to do this. Much is absolute- 
ly essential to its very existence. We are told, by 
those who claim to know, that an ordinary man will 
consume eight hundred pounds of solid food and drink 
fifteen hundred pounds of liquids in the run of a single 
year. What a revelation ! It is perfectly astound- 
ing ! Only think of the vast contributions which the 
earth, v/ater, and air must needs make to keep a man 
alive and render him comfortable for only a few 
months. And he cannot survive long without these 
favors. He must have them. And the helpless body 
cannot obtain them without the assistance of the de- 
pendent soul. In these matters the soul must suggest 
the method for acquisition before the body can exe- 
cute in any direction. They are close partners in 
business. 

Now all wise and honest means which may be em- 
ployed to get possession of such goods as are found to 
be really necessary are altogether worthy, right, and 



Man An Eternal Probationer. 63 



proper. But what shall we say of the wicked chican- 
ery resorted to and the enormous expenditures that 
are fooHshly wasted upon wanton luxuries and vicious 
modes of living, Vv^ith the cries of the dying poor ring- 
ing in our ears, while their suffering forms are sink- 
ing slovv^ly out of our sight to release and rest? Ah! 
just here is where the great and incalculable crimi- 
nality comes into the account. 

Then, after all, this frightful and unhappy conten- 
tion, mentioned by the apostle as going on between 
soul and body, is not so much a matter of wonder. 
We might reasonably expect it under all the condi- 
tions. And it ought not to be a matter of great sur- 
prise to us if the infatuated soul should often turn a 
deaf ear to the earnest and urgent appeals of the anx- 
ious spirit made in behalf of a higher, purer, and better 
life, and should suffer itself drawn away by the volup- 
tuous body to the low and debasing things of the 
earth. 

Man has but one sure course for salvation and glori- 
fication in heaven left open to him; and that is the de- 
feat and complete subjugation of the body. And St. 
Paul clearly sets forth and fully illustrates this idea in 
his own case, as related by himself : 

But I buffet my body, and bring it into bondage: lest by 
any means, after that I have preached to others, I myself 
should be rejected. 

Now the main fact in this important reference, to 
which we would call special attention, is that the great 
preacher of the Gentiles represents himself in it as be- 
ing engaged in a violent and deadly conflict with his 
body. Evidently it was or had been giving him con- 
siderable worry and much trouble through its per- 



64 Man An Eternal Probationer. 



verted appetites and depraved passions. And this un- 
pleasant arrangement of things brought about a state 
of affairs within him which he significantly describes 
as a regular pugihstic engagement that must go on 
to "a finish.'' And, therefore, hear him saying, ''I 
buffet my body and bring it into bondage." The "1" 
that is to say, the soul, which is the real man, St. Paul 
here most appropriately recognizes as himself. And 
it is this same something in man, this intermediate na- 
ture, which invests him with distinct personality and 
renders him individual^ responsible for his motives, 
thoughts, words, and actions. It is worthy of note 
that we always find this struggle going on between 
the soul and body in connection with matters of mo- 
rality and reHgion. And it is obvious that it must 
come about somehow in this way : the spirit, the soul's 
supernal companion, being directed and moved there- 
unto by the Holy Spirit, presses upon its attention the 
supreme fact that it is designed for a higher and 
more honorable destiny than serving the body in its 
low, degrading, and polluting ways. Then the con- 
tumacious combat begins in good earnest. And it 
rages on, waxing hotter and hotter, until it reaches a 
culmination point of severity in which he finds it nec- 
essary for him to pound the obstreperous body even 
unto discoloration. He deals hard and well-directed 
blows upon it, one after another, until at last it is beat- 
en and bruised "black and blue/' And when he has 
overcome it, he reduces it to bondage, and sinks it into 
a state of abject slavery. And then, to be sure of win- 
ning for himself an imperishable crown of life, he must 
keep it in perfect subjection with an unyielding pur- 
pose and sleepless vigilance. He must not give it any 



Man An Eternal Probationer. 65 

chance to regain its freedom, lest it should walk forth 
defiantl}^ and reassert its rebellion against him. 

And the soul, having thus conquered the body, must 
then willingly, of its own accord, submit itself to the 
spirit. For without such a thorough and voluntary 
submission of itself to the spirit, it can never be com- 
pletely happy. For the spirit is dependent upon the 
concerted action of the soul with itself for the realiza- 
tion of their higher aims, and the accomplishment of 
their subHmest purposes in all lines of holy living and 
useful undertaking. Why, the spirit is not able to rise 
in devotion and praise to God without the full and free 
consent of the soul. The truth is, the destiny of the en- 
tire man, for both time and eternity, must rest, with all 
its grand or gloomy results, upon the independent de- 
termination of the soul. And while our Lord does not 
undertake to locate definitely or authoritatively the 
will power in man, he never fails to recognize it as the 
supreme force in him. He uniformly ascribes to its 
exercise the final settlement of his choice in all mat- 
ters, whether good or evil. And this is a satisfactory 
reason for the fact that he never fails to make his ap- 
peals and submit his propositions to men upon the 
presumption that they are perfectly free to accept or 
reject them, just precisely as they may see fit to decide 
for themselves, in despite of all outward circumstances 
and influences : 

And he said unto all, If any man would come after me 
(Greek, If -any man will to come after me), let him deny him- 
self, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. 

We notice with profound interest that the first thing 
which a man is required to do, according to this say- 
ing of our Lord, in order that he may become his fol- 
5 



66 Man An Eternal Probationer. 



lower or disciple, is to decide the matter for himself by 
an untrammeled act of his own volition. And he can- 
not comply with the urgent and inflexible demand of 
Jesus without performing this initiative requisition 
first. And no compulsory force whatever can be 
brought to bear upon him in making this transcend- 
ent choice. The Almighty cannot himself afford to 
coerce or drive him in this tremendous transaction. 
It must come directly and spontaneously from the man 
himself. 

But under the predominating influence and consent 
of the will, self-denying and cross-bearing both alike 
become a religious pleasure as well as a bounden duty. 
And on another occasion Jesus expresses the very 
same sentiments concerning this amazing v/ill power 
in man : 

If any man willeth to do his will, he shall know of the 
teaching, whether it is of God, or whether I speak from my- 
self. 

In this quotation, as in the preceding one, the im- 
portant matter which is settled is the prominent fact 
that stands supreme over all others, that man has the 
constitutional and inahenable right of deciding for 
himself, separate and apart from, and independent of, 
all other agencies and influences. It is for him to say 
whether he will or will not do the will of God. If he 
should choose to do it, no power in the world could 
prevent him from accomplishing it. And on the other 
hand, if he should decide not to do it, no power, not 
even the combined forces of the universe, could con- 
strain him to do it or drag him into it against his own 
volition. Such is the marvelous power of the human 
will. In its astounding and unrestrained freedom of 



Man An Eternal Probationer. 67 



choice and action, it successfully and effectually re- 
sists the mighty influences of omnipotent power. God 
does not undertake to control it by force. And when 
this dominant faculty of the soul of man, which has 
been divinely appointed to decide upon, regulate, and 
preside over the emotions, words, and deeds of men, 
has once fully determined to perform the will of God, 
in the very act of so doing there comes to his con- 
sciousness as by a supernatural revelation a sure and 
unmistakable knowledge of the true nature and real 
character of the teaching of Christ Jesus, as to wheth- 
er it is from the Father or not. In this particular in- 
stance, it is made inspired truth's infallible test. 

And to invest man with this GodHke attribute is to 
make him individually, solitarily, and perpetually re- 
sponsible for his doings and doom. And to deprive 
him of it would not only wreck his accountability, but 
it would also obliterate his capacity for enjoying pleas- 
ure or suffering pain on account of his actions. Yea, 
it would destroy his competency for appreciating re- 
wards for his virtues or realizing retributions for his 
vices. But it is his indisputable claim upon, indubit- 
able right to, and incontestable possession of it which 
makes 

Man an Eternal Probationer. 
And that is just what he is. And, therefore, we hold 
that his destiny can never be unconditionally fixed, 
either in the swift flight of the years of this life or in the 
long sweep of eternal ages. However, there may, and 
certainly will, come up in the slowly advancing eras of 
the interminable future a bright and glorious period 
in the unfolding history of the redeemed and glorified 
in heaven, when they will have so firmly established 



68 Man An Eternal Probationer. 



themselves in the love of holiness and practice of 

righteousness as to so weaken the probabiUties and 
chances for disaffection and disobedience toward Je- 
hovah God as completely to banish from the realm of 
the uncertain the dangers of anything like relapse or 
apostasy to them. 

But still it remains true that the security and con- 
tinuation of the happiness of the saved in glory must 
forever depend upon their own faithfulness to their 
Creator, Redeemer, and Saviour willingly and cheer- 
fully rendered. 



ND as probation has been extended to man 
with one special object in view, to wit, the 
salvation of not simply a few, but the entire 
race, from sin, it would follow that it must be 
prolonged to him till the last lost soul is recovered 
from death and hell and restored to, and confirmed in, 
everlasting life and happiness. 

But is this the doctrine of the Bible? If it is, we 
may safely accept it ; and if it is not, we must reject it. 
In reading that precious old Book, we meet with a 
great many selections in which it is clearly implied and 
from which it is fairly inferred. And we may with 
pleasure and profit examine some of these. We cull 
almost at random. 

And they indeed have been made priests many in number, 

because that by death they are hindered from continuing: 
but he, because he abideth forever, hath his priesthood un- 
changeable. Wherefore also he is able to save to the utter- 
most them that draw near unto God through him, seeing he 
ever liveth to make intercession for them. 



Man An Eternal Probationer. 69 



The priesthood of our Lord is entirely unique. The 
sacred office did not come to him by inheritance 
through a long Hne of distinguished ancestry. The 
tribe from which he descended was royal, but not 
pontifical. He came out of Judah, and not out of Levi. 
And for this reason he did not enter into his priesthood 
in the ordinary way, or by using the established means 
under the ceremonial law. Such a thing would not 
have been at all suitable in his case. 

For it is evident that our Lord hath sprung out of Judah; 
as to which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priests. 
And what we say is yet more abundantly evident, if after the 
likeness of Melchizedek there ariseth another priest, who 
hath been made, not after the law of a carnal commandment, 
but after the power of an endless life. 

Then it is clear from this that our Lord's baptism 
could have had no connection in any way with his 
priesthood. It sustained no relation to it in any sense 
whatever; nor did it have any reference to it. The 
simple historical fact, that the Levites entered upon 
their official duties and performances at the age of 
about thirty years through certain ritualistic ablutions 
and purifications by water, has not the remotest bear- 
ing or the slightest influence upon the baptism of 
Jesus. He was neither consecrated and set apart for, 
nor inducted and installed into, his priesthood by his 
baptism. If such had been the case with him, he would 
have been made a priest just as all of his predecessors 
were before him — "after the law of a carnal command- 
ment," but not "after the power of an endless life." 
No ; his baptism had altogether another and very dif- 
ferent object in view. It was performed by John, ac- 
cording to his testimony, for a distinct and plainly 



70 Man An Eternal Probationer. 



designated purpose. It was, if he properly understood 
and correctly stated its design, simply intended to 
point Christ out to him, just as he was entering upon 
the threshold of his public ministry, as the promised 
and expected Messiah by an unmistakable token or 
infallible sign, which was to accompany the solemniza- 
tion of the sacred ceremony, or to follow imm^ediately 
upon it. 

And I knew him not ; but that he should be made manifest to 
Israel, for this cause came I baptizing in water. And John bear 
witness, saying, I have beheld the Spirit descending as a 
dove out of heaven; and it abode upon him. And I knew 
him not: but he that sent me to baptize in water, he said 
unto me, Upon whomsoever thou shalt see the Spirit de- 
scending, and abiding upon him, the same is he that bap- 
tizeth in the Holy Spirit. And I have seen, and have borne 
witness that this is the Son of God. 

So Jesus was designated and recognized as being 
"the Son of God" by his baptism, with the supernatu- 
ral phenomena which accompanied it. But the lan- 
guage itself is too clear to call for further comment 
from us. Its meaning is patent to the most casual 
reader. 

Then again, Jesus was not like other priests who 
had preceded him, and were constituted such under 
the law according to the Aaronical customs and ap- 
pointed methods, for he could not be a priest and re- 
main on earth. This fact is full of meaning. It gives 
us to understand that in his priesthood he is wholly 
out of the order of earthly priests. 

Now if he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, 
seeing there are those who offer the gifts according to the 
law. 



Man An Eternal Probationer. 71 



Thus it is made plain to us that he was obUged to 
pass up into heaven that he might be a priest and ex- 
ercise the pecuHar functions of his high office. But up 
there he holds and fills forever an unchanging priest- 
hood for us. And he is the very priest that we need. 
None other could fill his place. He was made "perfect 
through sufferings," ''in all points tempted like as we 
are/' "obtained eternal redemption" for us, and is 
therefore in deep, tender, and perpetual sympathy 
with us in all of our imperfections, infirmities, sorrows, 
and sufferings. 

And then, above all else, "he is able to save to the 
uttermost" — to the consummate end — "them that draw 
near unto God through him, seeing he ever liveth to 
make intercession for them." 

So we see that the great undertaking to save all men 
runs through all the years of time, and may also ex- 
tend far out into the bewildering ages of eternity for 
its final and full accomplishment. It must be clear to 
every thoughtful mind that these weighty matters are 
not treated of here or elsewhere in the Holy Scrip- 
tures as belonging alone to this life. They are care- 
fully and intentionally presented to us as continuing 
with all their incalculable advantages, influences, and 
benefits, on indefinitely through the dateless periods 
of the "forever and ever." 

And they show conclusively that man's day of pro- 
bationary trial does not close with this brief life. If it 
were true that it terminates at death, as many think, 
then after the general resurrection and judgment of 
the last day our Great High Priest would lift the daz- 
zling miter from his majestic brow and remove the 
glittering sacerdotal robe from his glorified person, 



72 Man An Eternal Probationer. 



and, placing them upon the obsolete altar, cease to 
plead for sinners or grant pardon to penitents. But 
nothing of this kind is mentioned. It is not so much 
as hinted at. But on the contrary, it is positively af- 
firmed that "liQ ever liveth to make intercession for 
them," and that he is "a high priest forever after the 
order of Melchizedek." 

Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth; 
for I am God, and there is none else. By myself have I 
sworn, the word is gone forth from my mouth in righteous- 
ness, and shall not return, that unto me every knee shall 
bow, every tongue shall swear. 



HE rich, exuberant, boundless, and free grace 
of God to forgive and save sinners — all sin- 
ners everyv/here and throughout all the 
ages — flows in full, fresh, eternal, life-impart- 
ing tides through the happily chosen and well-selected 
language of this prophetical invitation. It comes from 
the compassionate heart of our heavenly Father. And 
it is world-wide in its extent and application, sweeping 
from the center far out to the ever-widening circle of 
human wants and woes, touching it efficiently at every 
point, reaching with unwasting force the most dis- 
tant boundaries of this poor, sinful earth, and Hfting 
tiie divers population of those remote regions from 
the profoundest depths of the foulest pollution up 
to the most exalted heights of the fairest purity. And 
the Almighty pledges his supremacy of power, holi- 
ness, and truth for its successful accomf)lishment. He 
binds himself with a solemn oath faithfully to carry 
out his original purpose, as expressed by him in the 




Man An Eternal Probationer. 73 



evangelistic call, to save all men, even to the utmost 
limitations of the world. And to this end he declares 
that he has sent forth his word from his mouth in 
righteousness, with the infallible assurance that it shall 
not return, but shall continue to sound the message 
of love and hope down the ages, until all created in- 
telligences, having heard and received it, shall humbly 
and devoutly bow themselves down together before 
his sovereign throne of mercy, and, as happy, willing, 
shouting suppliants, swear eternal allegiance to him 
and his divine government. 




I will tell of the decree: 

Jehovah said unto me, Thou art my Son ; 

This day have I begotten thee. 

Ask of me, and I will give thee the nations for thine inher- 
itance, 

And the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. 

HEN Jesus of Nazareth arose from among 
the dead, and came forth out of their silent 
ranks, leaving the sepulcher stripped of the 
heavy clouds of gloom which the weeping 
centuries of the past had spread over it, and flooded 
with the cheerful light of immortaUty, then the ex- 
panding skies of all worlds began to grow redolent 
and strangely bright with the crimson glory of the 
cross, and to glow with the kindling splendors of the 
eternal triumph of his vicarious death. And the ex- 
cited angels, awe-struck with the fadeless scenes of the 
crucifixion, dropped from the loftiest heights of heav- 
en down to "these low grounds of sin and sorrow" 
and sat with folded wing and bowed head, in the in- 
tense brightness of the lingering majesty with which 



74 Man An Eternal Probationer, 



the mighty Conqueror had filled the vacated tomb, 
completely absorbed in their deep contemplation of 
the infinite significance of the resurrection unto life. 
And the everlasting Father, with the overflowing 
pleasure of perfect love for his ''only begotten Son," 
and boundless approval upon his redeeming work, 
with the choral anthems of heaven pealing forth in un- 
controllable joy, bade him publish the divine decree 
abroad with all of its grand unfoldings, which must 
eventuate in his universal and absolute dominion over 
all the nations of the earth, in their different tribes and 
tongues, as they are scattered broadcast from the 
hill of Calvary out to the most distant borders of the 
globe. Here we find the wide basis of the great 
commission which our Lord gave to his apostles to go 
into all the world and preach the gospel to every crea- 
ture. And according to his own appointment, made 
by himself before his passion, they met him promptly 
upon the consecrated heights of some unknown moun- 
tain in Galilee, and received from him their m.arching 
orders. They seem to have come together at the 
chosen place somewhat in advance of their Lord, and 
were waiting for his arrival : 

And Jesus came to them and spake unto them, saying, 
All authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on 
earth. Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the na- 
tions, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the 
Son and of the Holy Spirit: teaching them to observe all 
things whatsoever I commanded you: and lo, I am with 
you always, even unto the end of the vv'orld. 

At one point the translation of our Lord's language 
here is somewhat unfortunate. It not only weakens 
its force, but it actually limits it in its meaning and ap- 



Man An Eternal Probationer. 75 



plication. If it v/ere rendered literally and correctly, 
as demanded by the original Greek text, it would 
read and be read "make all the nations disciples." As 
spoken by Jesus, it secures the final conversion of all 
the peoples of the whole human race to the Christian 
religion. But as it stands in the quotation, it antici- 
pates failure, and allows indefinitely for it, in attempt- 
ing to carry out the Saviour's command. His words 
are absolutely universal in their import. Let us fear 
to put anything like restrictions upon them as he de- 
livered them to his disciples. And his promised pres- 
ence with them, even unto the consummation ot the 
age, is his infallible pledge to them for the ultimate 
success of their work. 

It is evidently presupposed in the paternal promise 
which v/as given to the Messiah, as stated in the 
Psalm, that he will, in his intercessory prayer for the 
salvation of all men, be certain to ask for these things ; 
and hence it is affirmed that as he makes the request 
so this large patrimony and extensive possession must 
be unconditionally handed over to him. 

The world then must be considered as belonging to 
the Son of God by sacred covenant bond. And in due 
time he will assert his right to unlimited dominion 
over it, and will reign over it as its gracious Sovereign 
forever. 

And while there is no settled time agreed upon, or 
specified date furnished, in the precious promise for 
its fulfillment, yet its final accomplishment, in the un- 
known epochs of the endless future, is as certain as 
that the Father now rules in heaven and the Son 
pleads for sinners. 



76 



Man An Eternal Probationer. 



UT there are so many passages of Scripture 
from which the doctrine which we are vindi- 
cating may be clearly and strongly deduced, 
that to quote them all would be to transcribe 
a very large portion of the inspired writings, and 
would of themselves fill a large volume ; so we are in- 
clined to turn our attention to the examination of an- 
other class of texts, in which it is taught directly and 
positively. And we have selected only a few of these 
from many. 

Now is the judgment (Greek, crisis) of this world: now 
shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be 
lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto myself. 

The passion of Jesus of GaHlee is the grandest and 
most momentous of all the great crises which have 
occurred in this world's ''eventful history." Upon 
the torn and shattered summit of Golgotha, with the 
darkened heavens overshadowing him, and all nature 
shuddering throughout her vast dominions from high- 
est height to deepest foundation, as if she were in suf- 
fering sympathy with her expiring Creator in his 
tragical death, he uncrowned the proud, despotic 
prince of darkness, unsettled his formidable kingdom 
of wickedness and woe from top to bottom, and cast 
him out as a false, treacherous, cruel usurper. And 
from that auspicious day down to the present propi- 
tious hour, he has been operating in the various forms 
and phases of evil among the offending children of 
men as a defeated and conquered foe. 

And although at one time the terrible death of our 
blessed Lord did look very much as if it might prove 
to be an unfortunate failure to him, yet in reality it was 
all the while a complete success. He suddenly dashed 




Man An Eternal Probationer. 77 



into the beaming light of a glorious victory from what 
appeared to be the gathering gloom of an unhappy 
overthrow. In this mightiest of all struggles, which 
draped the sun in the black habiliments of signal 
mourning, startled the earth with violent commotions 
that rent her rocks asunder and aroused her dead from 
their dreamless slumber in the grave, shook the world 
upon its solid basis, and convulsed the whole universe 
with shocks from Mount Calvary, nothing like disaster 
or discomfiture could come to the great Captain of our 
salvation. But then it was that he forever vanquished 
the dusky legions of hell, put them to flight, and deliv- 
ered the race of mankind from the fearful apprehen- 
sion of death in all its frightful forms and manifesta- 
tions. 

Since then the children are sharers in flesh and blood, he 
also himself in like manner partook of the same; that 
through death he might bring to nought him that had the 
power of death, that is, the devil; and might deliver all them 
who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to 
bondage. 

And here we have the unmistakable fulfillment of 
that first prophetic promise which was given to cheer 
the life and brighten the prospects of the guilty pair 
immediately after their mournful lapse into disobedi- 
ence and sin, and merciful expulsion from their ruined 
Eden-home into a wild wilderness world of want, toil, 
suffering, and death. 

I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and be- 
tween thy seed and her seed: he shall bruise thy head, and 
thou shalt bruise his heel. 

Truly the seed of the woman bruised the serpent's 
head. For in his death Jesus crushed him — ^broke 



78 Man An Eternal Probationer. 



his power forever, and rescued the human race from 
the thralldom of sin and death. 

And so the painful cross, which was simply designed 
to be the instrument of his torture, death, and shame, 
has become the symbol of salvation and spiritual Ufe 
to all men everywhere. It has also become the 
common center of moral attraction to the whole 
universe. 

The crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension of the 
divine Son of Mary are all embraced in the profound 
meaning of the suggestive expression, "and I, if I be 
lifted up from the earth" — rather, according to the 
Greek, it should be, out of the mrth. 

His death and burial were obliged to be followed by 
his resurrection, ascension, and coronation, in order 
that he might carry out successfully the only object of 
his mission to this most wicked and wretched world 
of ours, which, as he here positively affirms, is "to 
draw all to himself." There is no word in the Greek of 
the original text corresponding to the term "men" 
which we find in the translation. 

Then we are not at liberty to place any limitation 
whatever upon the all-comprehending expression of 
our Lord. But we are left free to adopt the only nat- 
ural inference, that Jesus has, in his redeeming work, 
not only broken down the destructive power and in- 
fluence of "the prince of this world," and secured the 
happy return and vital reunion of all men to himself 
in the slowly unfolding and ever-brightening pros- 
pects of the future ages, but that he has also, at the 
same time and by the very same means, brought all 
the inhabitants of all other worlds into closer connec- 
tion and more intimate relation with his Father, and 



Man An Eternal Probationer. 79 



inspired them with a deeper feehng of fealty and 
stronger attachment to him and his government. 

And what is here so clearly intimated by the Mas- 
ter himself is somewhat more elaborately stated by 
his divinely authorized apostle: 

For it was the good pleasure of the Father that in him 
should all the fullness dwell; and through him to reconcile 
all things unto himself, having made peace through the 
blood of his cross; through him, I say, whether things upon 
the earth, or things in the heavens. 

When compared with the broad and liberal views 
which are set forth in the plain declarations of this 
quotation from the Scriptures, it must be confessed 
that the conceptions and ideas which are commonly 
entertained and expressed concerning the nature, de- 
sign, extent, and appHcation of the atonement seem 
to be far too narrow, contracted, and partial to be 
brought into harmony with them at all. And any at- 
tempt in that direction must prove to be a fruitle'ss ef- 
fort. If the notions about these things which are usu- 
ally held and freely defended be true and reliable, only 
a few can reasonably indulge the fond hope of obtain- 
ing a real, valuable, lasting benefit from all that Jesus 
has done and endured for the race while the majority of 
mankind must be left to perish hopelessly in their sins. 

And yet, to be perfectly frank and honest, it must be 
confessed that it is extremely difficult to* understand 
how such severe limitations and hard restrictions can 
be even forced upon the mediatorial work of "the Son 
of man," in the open face of the positive utterances 
with which we are now dealing. Take, for example, 
the passages which we are already considering, as 
they have come to us. 



8o Man An Eternal Probationer. 



In the one selected from the gospel of St. John, Jesus 
affirms, without manife'sting anything like hesitation 
or doubt, that he will be able to succeed finally in at- 
tracting all men to himself by means of his humilia- 
tion and exaltation. 

Now he does not so much as insinuate that he is 
simply going to make an honest and earnest effort to 
save all men, which must certainly prove in the end to 
be a vain and fruitless experiment so far as many of 
the unfortunate race are concerned. It is true, how- 
ever, as has been claimed, that he says "draw" — not 
drag — "all men to himself." But while that is strictly 
true — and nobody is gladder than the writer that it is 
true — ^still,as a fact, he does not seem to anticipate any- 
thing like failure in ultimately bringing about the sal- 
vation of the entire human family though the power of 
his cross and its everlasting appliances. 

He saves men, not by a violent exertion of sheer 
strength, but through the compulsory force of infinite 
love, backed by the free-will power of the man him- 
self. As the prophet says : 

Jehovah appeared of old (Hebrew, from afar) unto me, 
saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: 
therefore with loving-kindness have I drawn thee. 

Then we learn that no man can go so far away from 
Jehovah, or remain from him so very long, that he can- 
not reach him with the wooing manifestations and 
winning pleadings of his ''everlasting love"; nor can 
he ever become so thoroughly lost that his "loving- 
kindness" — his unfmlmg tender mercy — ^will not in 
the end bring him back to himself. 

And the great apostle of the Gentiles speaks with 
much confidence and boldness in the comforting and 



Man An Eternal Probationer. 8i 



encouraging selection which we have gathered from 
his writings, and have been contemplating with no 
small degree of pleasure and profit, in which he so 
strongly insists that Jesus has not only made safe be- 
yond a peradventure the final and full happiness of the 
whole race of man, but that also by the same propi- 
tiatory act he has changed the feeling, attitude, and 
bearing of the entire universe of inteUigent and respon- 
sible beings toward his Father for all time to come. 
And it is in view of this very fact that the fullness of 
the attributes and perfections of the Godhead must 
take up their abode and dwell in him henceforth, in- 
vesting his risen and glorified humanity, which once 
expired in great agony upon the cross, with adequate 
power and perfect competency for bringing into com- 
plete harmony with the will of his Father all discord- 
ant, disobedient, or rebellious creatures in earth, heav- 
en, or any other outlying province belonging to the 
boundless empire of Almighty God. And, in truth, 
this appears to have been the main object which was 
held constantly in view from the beginning of creation 
itself. For we find that the whole magnificent struc- 
ture of the universe, in all its parts and proportions, 
both as to its primitive plan and final purpose, was 
placed fully and forever under the control and man- 
agement of Jesus Christ : 

In him were all things created, in the heavens, and upon 
the earth, things visible and things invisible, whether thrones 
or dominions or principalities or powers; all things have 
been created through him, and unto him; and he is before 
all things, and in him all things consist. 

All of creation, in its bewildering amplitude and in- 
finite variety, far back in the dateless periods of eter- 
6 



82 



Man An Eternal Probationer. 



nity, was devised, planned, adjusted, and constructed 
directly in connection with the redeeming work of the 
divine Son of the everlasting Father. Not only was it 
in him, as the distinct outlining of it, with all its vast 
prospective possibilities, but it also has the grand reaH- 
ties of its actual existence in him. 

And this applies to creation, in all of its parts, from 
the ever-changing forms and fashions of gross matter 
up to the different grades and names of the celestial 
hierarchy. 

And it is equally true of things "visible" and "in- 
visible," in heaven and on earth. For nothing at all, 
whether physical or spiritual, organic or inorganic, an- 
imate or inanimate, could have been brought into be- 
ing apart from, and independent of, the atonement 
which was made through the precious blood of Jesus 
Christ. And again, it is affirmed that all things were 
created "through" him. That is to say, God made 
all things "through" the immediate agency of his Son. 
Then it was in and through him that the solid founda- 
tion was laid, the far-reaching framework put togeth- 
er, and the complete fabric of nature wrought out and 
finished. Moreover, it is asserted with great suggest- 
iveness that "all things were created unto him." He 
is the final end, as well as the initial source, of creation. 
And as all things went out from him on their endless 
rounds, so they must all ultimately come back to him 
as the grand object of their being. Thus he "draws all 
things unto himself." 

And all things, majestic or minute, from the mighty 
spheres that revolve in their orbits to the little motes 
that float upon sunbeams, "consist," cohere, or hold 
together in him. Without him, the whole universe 



Man An Eternal Probationer. 83 



would go to pieces. The planets would fly off at a tan- 
gent and roll wreckfully along the infinitudes of unop- 
posing space. And all created intelligences, losing re- 
spect for allegiance, would defiantly throw off the 
wholesome restraints of moral law and rush on madly 
to ruin. 

And the great cosmos, instead of being a beautiful 
universe of order and harmony, would be converted 
into a terrible chaos of confusion and uproar. 

"The Eternal Word is the goal of the universe, as 
he was the starting point. It must end in unity, as it 
proceeded from unity ; and the center of this unity is 
Christ." 

Then all things, everywhere and of every kind, be- 
long to our Lord by original and inherent right of cre- 
ation. They are his also in consideration of the sacred 
and inviolable covenant conditions which were agreed 
upon by the Persons existing in the essential trinity of 
the adorable Godhead, before anything was brought 
forth. And they have their being solely and depend- 
ently in him, and have been reconciled to the Father 
through his d'eath and resurrection. 

Then it must follow that the reclaiming, reforming, 
and saving influences, which forever flow in efficient 
currents from his cross, must at last reach and bring 
back all fallen and wicked spirits into implicit faith 
and devotion to the triune God, the Father, Son, and 
Holy Spirit. 

And it is clear that by the same great system of 
reconciliation he purposes to bring the innumerable 
ranks of the pure, good, and faultless of all worlds on 
high into closer union and communion with God, holi- 
ness, happiness, and heaven than they ever were be- 



84 Man An Eternal Probationer. 



fore. This thought is especially emphasized by the 
apostle in another connection, where he says : 

Making known unto us the mystery of his will, accord- 
ing to his good pleasure which he purposed in him unto 
a dispensation of the fullness of the times, to sum up (the 
Greek, literally rendered, means, to heed up again) all things 
in Christ, the things in the heavens, and the things upon the 
earth. 

We have no criticisms of any kind to offer upon the 
difficulties which may be found in the verbal forms and 
grammatical structure of this fathomless and far- 
reaching announcement. We are not hunting trouble, 
but simply seeking the truth. 

This marvelous statement reveals a profound mys- 
tery which had long been concealed in the secret coun- 
sels of the divine mind. God has here graciously 
made known the fact that it is his greatest pleasure, 
most earnest desire, and unalterable determination, in 
the economy of his grace, to so direct the lapsing of 
ages and control the passing opportunities as in due 
time to sum or head up again; that is to say, to col- 
lect together, or gather into one grand, harmonious 
body, all things v/hich are in heaven and upon earth, 
and reunite them in Christ as their great, living, com- 
mon head. And this sublime truth lies at the founda- 
tional idea of the promulgation of the gospel under 
the apostoHc and Christian ministry : 

To wit, that God was in Christ reconciling the world 
(Greek, cosmos, the whole universe) unto himself. 

Hence it appears that our Lord is made, most right- 
fully and properly, the head and center of this all- 
comprehensive family in their final recovery from sin 
with all of its fearful consequences, and their felicitous 



Man An Eternal Probationer. 85 



and successful restoration to God's everlasting favor 
and friendship. 

Oh, the mysterious and miraculous attraction of 
the cross of Christ ! Who can measure its vast reach 
of power to recover and restore the wayward and the 
wicked? or calculate its wide range of effective influ- 
ence for eternal good over all created intelligences? 
It sends a ceaseless thrill of joy to the loftiest heights 
of the innumerable multitudes of the unfallen and re- 
deemed in glory, illuminates the deepest pits of perdi- 
tion and darkest dungeons of despair with the hope- 
ful light of salvation, and fills the boundless regions of 
immensity with all the beauties of perpetual life and 
cheerfulness ; so that no order of beings, however hap- 
py or unhappy they may be, is overlooked or left out. 
But all — yes, all — are evermore included in the trium- 
phant reign of our blessed Christ. 



^^^g UT it may be asked. How can these things 
^^^^ be? And if they are to come to pass, must 
l^s^^l not the fallen angels also be embraced in the 
infinite scheme of redeeming and saving 
mercy? We neither affirm nor contradict. But we 
feel constrained just here to present some strong 
scriptures which look far out into this unfrequented 
line of legitimate inquiry. 

And that he may send the Christ who hath been appointed 
for you, even Jesus : whom the heaven must receive until the 
times of restoration of all things, whereof God spake by the 
mouth of his holy prophets that have been from of old. 

One thought must force itself with great weight of 
meaning upon an attentive mind in connection with a 



86 Man An Eternal Probationer. 



careful examination of this most striking Scripture 
reference ; and that is the imperative fact that the term 
"restoration" means to put all things, which have by 
any chance gotten out of their position, back into their 
proper place, and leave them again in regular order. 
And, therefore, it seems that it must denote the res- 
toration and reinstatement of the fallen and lost of all 
worlds back again into their original condition and 
first estate. And further, in the "restoration of all 
things" here spoken of, it would appear that there must 
be a thorough readjustment of all classes and grades 
of unfortunate beings which have in any way disturbed 
their former happy relations and perfect harmony with 
their Creator, so as to bring them back again into 
their original agreement with his will and government. 



Wherefore also God highly exalted him, and gave unto 
him the name which is above every name; that in the name 
of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven and 
things on earth and things under the earth, and that every 
tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory 
of God the Father. 

p^^^'T is fully agreed to on all hands that the 
^^^^ phrase "things in heaven" means the good 
^^^^ angels in all their different orders, ranks, 
and distinctions; that the phrase "things on 
earth" comprehends all men, whether good or bad, 
living or dead ; and that the phrase "things under the 
earth" embraces the fallen angels, or demons damned, 
and lost men. 

And we are here assured that all of these shall at last 
bow down together, "in the name of Jesus," which de- 
notes and describes an act of solemn and sacred wor- 



Man An Eternal Probationer. 



87 



ship. Observe that they bow down in, not at or to, the 
name, which would be the word employed if it were 
done simply to recognize his power and sovereignty 
over them. And furthermore, it is positively stated 
that with common consent and complete unanimity they 
"confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God 
the Father." 

So this marvelous act of universal adoration and 
highest ascription of praise does not appear to be per- 
formed upon the part of any participating in it as a 
forced and reluctant submission to the irresistible au- 
thority and conquering power of God ; but it is a clear 
and full manifestation of a penitent, trusting, willing 
return and unconditional surrender of all the disloyal 
denizens of all the worlds to the gracious and glorious 
mediatorial dominion and reign of Jesus Christ, which 
can know no ending in time or eternity. He conquers 
his foes by kindness and love, and not by violence and 
wrath. 

It must be that when heaven, earth, and hell come 
together and worship the Son of man, who is the Son 
of God, in concert with each other, all disaffection, 
alienation, and opposition toward Jehovah and his 
Anointed have vanished from the whole universe of 
worlds. 

And that is just what we see here. But we marvel 
not, having been thoroughly prepared for the wel- 
come sight. We know that Jesus was manifested in 
the flesh that he might subdue all things unto him- 
self and bring them back again from all estrangement 
of every character and grade into loving unison with 
the will of his Father. And his work can never be fin- 
ished until he has fully accomplished all this. 



88 - Man An Eternal Probationer. 



And every created thing which is in the heaven, and on the 
earth, and under the earth, and on the sea, and all things 
thai are in them, heard I saying, Unto him that sitteth 
on the throne, and unto the Lamb, be the blessing, and the 
honor, and the glory, and the dominion, forever and ever. 

HERE are some at least who think that this 
intensely interesting passage of inspired 
, truth can have but one fair and consistent 

interpretation put upon its language. They 
contend strenuously and honestly that, if it is to be 
looked upon as reliable in its clear and most compre- 
hensive terms, it points with unmistakable directness 
and certainty to a blessed period which is on its way, 
and must finally come up in the ever-unfolding events 
of the countless ages of the future, when all sin, sor- 
row, and suffering of every kind and degree will be 
wiped av/ay from all the worlds, and all created intelli- 
gences shall join in one endless, rapturous song of joy 
without a single sigh of grief or the slightest sign of 
impatience to mar or interfere with the universal har- 
mony and happiness that prevail and reign every- 
where. 




Then cometh the end, when he shall deliver up the king- 
dom to God, even the Father; when he shall have abolished 
all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign, till 
he hath put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy 
that shall be abolished is death. 

E cannot think for a moment that our Lord 
will ever deliver the mediatorial kingdom to 
the Father, separate the divinity from the hu- 
manity, merge it back into the Godhead, and 
cease to reign over the saints in glory. His media- 




Man An Eternal Probationer. 89 



torial kingdom, like his priesthood, must be eternal 
and unchangeable. Hence the angel Gabriel said to 
the virgin Mary, when unfolding the mysteries of the 
incarnation to her wondering soul, "And of his king- 
dom there shall be no end." 

He speaks here in a positive and absolute sense. 
But he does reign over a kingdom which he may re- 
sign into the hands of his Father. It is the kingdom 
of grace in which the gospel is preached to sinners, 
pardon granted to penitents, and salvation given to be- 
lievers. Jesus speaks especially of this kingdom in his 
great sermon on the mount when he says, "Blessed 
are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of 
heaven." 

This kingdom was bestowed upon him by his Father 
for a particular purpose, to wit, the recovery of the 
lost, pacification of the rebellious, and the ratification 
of the faithful. Now when he shall have accomplished 
the object for which this delegated right of leadership 
was given to him, then he may properly return it to 
the original source of authority from which he re- 
ceived it. 

In this matter one is reminded of a prince, the heir 
apparent to the throne of the empire, who is appointed 
by the king to go out with his armies and reduce cer- 
tain rebellious provinces back to their subjection and 
fealty to the crown. And when he has accomplished 
the work which has been assigned to him, returning 
in triumph, he lays the spoils and trophies of his con- 
quest down at his father's feet, and then surrenders 
his commission to him. But in all this he does not 
cease to be the true and lawful prince. So he keeps 
his honorable position at the right hand of the king. 



90 Man An Eternal Probationer. 



And when Jesus shall have brought all created intel- 
ligences who have gone astray back again into perfect 
harmony with the will of the Almighty, he will bring 
all the honors which he has won for himself in ob- 
taining the victory over sin, death, and hell, and will 
hang them upon the throne of his Father. Then 
God shall *'be all in all." For by this act of filial 
duty and reverence the Son recognizes him as the 
original fountain of all power and authority. 

But he must continue to occupy the mediatorial 
throne and perform the work of his mediation. For 
it is made plain that the whole of the material and 
moral universe is held together and kept in order 
through him. But the proclamation of the terms of 
peace and acts of pardon being no longer in demand, 
the whole universe of worlds having been saved or 
confirmed in the possession and enjoyment of eternal 
happiness, the kingdom of grace must give place to 
the kingdom of glory. 

But in bringing this about there will be no violence 
done to the freedom of the will. All, having been 
reconciled to God through the death of his Son, will 
come of their own accord in true penitency and faith ; 
and by their volition they will abide in it safely for- 
ever. With them, all the way through, it is a matter 
of choice, and not of compulsion. They could forsake 
God, but they will never do it. They are in no danger 
of committing such folly. Many things are altogether 
possible which must remain so perpetually as to their 
real existence, when there is no probability whatever 
that they will take place at all. They could, as to mere 
potentiality, happen ; but they will certainly never ac- 
tually come to pass. So when all things shall have 



Man An Eternal Probationer. 91 



been brought back into harmony with God, it is rea- 
sonable to conclude that there will never again be 
another case of rebellion or relapse. The tendency 
of all things everywhere is toward perfection rather 
than deterioration. And thus the final destiny of 
the universe is working out slowly but surely. 

But the mission, work, and reign of our Lord, even 
in the peculiar feature to which we have alluded as 
perhaps being temporary in its duration, cannot be 
fulfilled or come to an end until he has destroyed the 
last foe that dares stand upon the field against him, 
which is Death. And certainly this cannot simply 
mean the abrogation of physical mortality by the res- 
urrection of the dead from the grave. The dissolution 
of the natural body is death in its milder mood and 
gentler manifestation. But Jesus proposes to abolish 
death in its worst and most fearful form, which is seen 
alone in the ruin of both soul and body in hell. Then 
he must not fail to abrogate these. 

Jesus will not relinquish his prerogative to rule, or 
relax his efforts to save, until he has succeeded in re- 
covering all that he has bought with his blood, com- 
pletely blotted out sin, annihilated physical, spiritual, 
and eternal death, and banished forever sorrow and 
suffering from all worlds. 

UT we turn reluctantly away from this en- 
larged and entrancing survey of the propitia- 
tory work and mainistry of our Lord, as hold- 
ing together and affecting the entire cre- 
ation of God with its saving force and conservative in- 
fluence, that we may take notice more particularly of 




92 Man An Eternal Probationer. 



the peculiar relation which every man on earth sus- 
tains to it : 

For the Son of man came to seek and to save that which 
was lost. 

This inestimable scripture sets before us clearly the 
noble intention and grand object of the appearance of 
the Son of God into our wretched world. Prompted 
and sustained alone by the strength and tenderness of 
infinite love, he cheerfully and willingly laid aside the 
glory which he had with his Father "before the world 
was," and in a deeply mysterious manner to'ok upon 
himself humanity with all of its innocent infirmities, 
imperfections, and weaknesses which he inherited 
through his mother; for he was "born of a woman, 
bcrn under the law." And so being clothed with flesh 
and blood, he lived, toiled, suffered, and sorrowed 
among men. In all this it is strikingly indicated to us 
that he could not have a natural father and escape the 
deeper taints of depravity and the more dangerous ap- 
proaches to sin. But he readily submitted to the in- 
carnation with its humiliation, sacrifices, labors, pri- 
vations, and death, to save lost man. This quotation 
is a grand epitome of the whole gospel. 

N the fifteenth chapter of St. Luke Jesus puts 
forth three of his finest and best parables, in 
each of which he is careful to show us clear- 
ly that he intends to compass the salvation 
of the entire race of mankind in the run of the ages 
of the everlasting future. 

In two of these parables he presents to us the divine 
side of this most gracious work ; and in the other one 




Man An Eternal Probationer. 



93 



he places before us, in the most graphic manner, the 
human aspect of it. So he gives us a satisfactory so- 
lution of the difficult problem of human salvation. He 
shows us that the sovereign grace of God and the free 
will of man must be brought into perfect concert of 
action to accomplish the desired end. But let us look 
at the parables themselves in their regular order. 

And he spake unto them this parable, saying, What man 
of you, having a hundred sheep, and having lost one of 
them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, 
and go after that which is lost, until he find it? And when 
he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 
And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends 
and his neighbors, saying unto them, Rejoice with me, for 
I have found my sheep which was lost. I say unto you, that 
even so there shall be joy in heaven over one sinner that 
repentctfh, more than over ninety and nine righteous per- 
sons, who need no repentance. 

N the parable of the lost sheep Vv^e see a 
thoughtless sinner wandering away from 
God and good people. And such a person is 
fitly represented by a silly sheep, straggling 
away from the shepherd and the flock to which it be- 
longs, by following its wayward inclination to change 
grazing grounds and wander about heedlessly from 
place to place. So the sinner yields foolishly to his per- 
verted appetites and depraved passions, indulging them 
blindly, obstinately, and persistently, even to his utter 
undoing. 

The sheep strays away and runs off of its own ac- 
cord ; so does the sinner. The sheep never comes back 
of itself ; neither does the sinner. But the kind shep- 
herd follows on after the truant sheep in all of its de- 




94 Man An Eternal Probationer. 

vious and dangerous ramblings ; and so does the loving 
Saviour follow the sinner through all the dark dens 
and dreadful dives of crime and iniquity. 

All others may grow weary, become discouraged, 
and give up the chase in disappointment and despair, 
and turn back, leaving the poor, roving sheep to its dis- 
astrous fate ; but not so with the anxious and faithful 
shepherd. He declares his fixed determination and set- 
tled purpose in these grand heart-cheering and world- 
illuminating words : "And go after it, until he find it/' 

And in this way Jesus, the good Shepherd, gives us 
to understand that he will never weary or waver in 
his pursuit of the lost soul, ''until he find it." And in 
this strong and amazing asseveration he removes, in 
an absolute sense, all of the accustomed limitations 
and restrictions of time which have been placed upon 
the term of man's probation in attempting to confine 
it to this life only. 

Our blessed Lord here assures us that he will not 
only spend the swiftly passing years of time in look- 
ing after the lost sinner, but that he will tramp eternal 
ages, and search through all the gloomy caverns and 
grimy pits of the lonely wilderness world of woe, or 
find him.; for he is the purchase of his blood. 

And like the gentle shepherd, when at last he over- 
takes him he will not upbraid, abuse, or beat him, in 
order to drive him back to his place ; but, taking him 
in his strong arms, he will gladly lift him from his help- 
lessness and misery, and pressing him tenderly to his 
loving heart, he will joyfully bring him back to heav- 
en's fold, to wander away no more forever. 

The lost sheep safely restored certainly will cleave to 
the Shepherd, and never leave the happy flock. 



Man An Eternal Probationer. 



95 



Or what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose 
one piece, doth not light a lamp, and sweep the house, and 
seek diligently until she find it? And when she hath found 
it, she calleth together her friends and neighbors, saying, 
Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I had 
lost. Even so, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence 
of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth. 

ERE we behold a sinner in a most deplorable 
condition. He is lost. And yet he is totally 
unconcerned, and cares nothing at all about 
it. He does not so much as give it a serious 
thought. Truly, then, he is in a sad state. Carelessly 
and culpably he has unfortunately yielded to the natu- 
ral bent and downward tendency of his nature, until he 
has sunken deeply into degradation and death. He is 
like an unconscious coin, pushed from its place, which, 
following the law of gravitation, drops into the dust, is 
covered up in it, and so it is completely lost to sight. 

And in this case the Saviour is represented as look- 
ing carefully after the unfortunate sinner through the 
instrumentality of the Church, which is clearly indi- 
cated to us by the woman who is introduced in the 
parable. And she, like her divine Lord, is required to 
*'seek diligently until she find it." 

And in this, as in the preceding parable, the term 
of seeking ends alone with the finding and recovery 
of that which is lost. And if time should prove to be 
insufficient for the completion of this task, eternity 
must contribute of its ceaseless ages to the full ac- 
complishment of this one leading engagement and 
absorbing purpose of Heaven. 

Observe how industriously and persistently the 
searching is kept up. When one efifort fails, another 




96 Man An Eternal Probationer. 



follows immediately; and when one class of means 
proves inefficient, another is adopted at once. 

First of all, as we imagine, the house is carefully 
and closely examined ; but the lost treasure is not dis- 
covered. So the helpful lamp is lighted, and its bright, 
blazing flame is deftly turned into every corner, 
crack, crevice, or cranny of the room; but still the 
hidden piece of shining silver does not come to light. 

Finally, the never-failing broom, as the last resort, 
is taken in hand, and the process of sweeping com- 
mences, and soon every particle of dust is turned up, 
driven about, and thoroughly sifted ; and at last the 
anxiously hunted little coin, escaping sight no longer, 
is found, and recovered in safety by the delighted 
owner. 



And he said, A certain man had two sons: and the 
younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the por- 
tion of thy substance that falleth to me. And he divided 
unto them his living. And not many days after, the younger 
son gathered all together and took his journey into a far 
country; and there he wasted his substance with riotous 
living. And when he had spent all, there arose a mig^hty 
famine in that country; and he began to be in want. And 
he went and joined himself to one of the citizens of that 
country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And 
he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the 
swine did eat: and no man gave unto him. But when he 
came to himself he said, How many hired servants of my 
father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish here 
with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say 
unto him. Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy 
sight: I am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me 
as one of thy hired servants. And he arose, and came to 
his father. But while he was yet afar ofif, his father saw 



Man An Eternal Probationer. 97 



him, and was moved with compassion, and ran, and fell on 
his neck, and kissed him. And the son said unto him. Fa- 
ther, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight: I am 
no more worthy to be called thy son. But the father said to 
his servants. Bring forth quickly the best robe, and put it 
on him ; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet : 
and bring the fatted calf, and kill it, and let us eat, and 
make merry: for this my son was dead, and is alive again; 
he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry. 
Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew 
nigh to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he 
called to him one of the servants, and inquired what these 
things might be. And he said unto him, Thy brother is 
come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he 
hath received him safe and sound. But he was angry, and 
would not go in: and his father came out, and entreated him. 
But he answered and said to his father, Lo, these many 
years do I serve thee, and I never transgressed a command- 
ment of thine; and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I 
might make merry with my friends: but when this thy son 
came^ who hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou 
killedst for him the fatted calf. And he said unto him. Son, 
thou art ever with me, and all that is mine is thine. But 
it was meet to make merry and be glad: for this thy brother 
was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found. 

HE parable of the prodigal son is justly pro- 
nounced the pearl of all the parables. It is 
matchless in loveliness and beauty. In its 
own peerless way, it shows us a sinner striv- 
ing to get back to God. He is most truly penitent, 
deeply grieved, and sorely troubled over a wasted 
and wrecked life. He has made himself familiar with 
vice in all forms, phases, and degrees. By a sad expe- 
rience he has learned what wickedness is. As we see 
him, he is well-nigh prostrated. He is suffering most 
painfully from the degrading and destructive effects 
7 




98 Man An Eternal Probationer. 



of sin. Willfully and most shamefully he has gone 
swiftly down from the refinement and elegance of a 
most magnificent mansion of the greatest abundance 
of wholesome comfort and innocent pleasure into the 
foul filth of a pig sty. Maddened with one giddy v/hirl 
of gay dissipation after another into downright crazi- 
ness, he has speedily wrought out his own unhappy 
doom with the disgusting relish of swinish greediness. 
Through the wild ways of baneful revelry and a rapid 
course of gross, licentious conduct, he rushed quickly 
upon his ruin. And pinched keenly with severe hun- 
ger, and with the frightful horrors of starvation star- 
ing him full in the face, finally "he came to himself." 
This last expression is more than a mere intimation 
that sin is at least a spell of insanity. It is an indirect 
declaration that he had gone beside himself. But sud- 
denly he is awakened from the strange, delusive dream 
of carnal indulgence, and aroused from the deceptive 
fascination of the temporary lunacy of luxurious and 
lascivious living, into which he had recklessly fallen. 
And in his sober, serious, thoughtful moments of re- 
turning soundness of mind and reflection, he wisely 
entered into a solemn resolution to go back to his 
father. And about the same time he properly decided 
to seek no higher position in his father's family than 
that of a hired servant. And with these humble feel- 
ings, earnest desires, and most worthy purposes ma- 
turely formed in his mind and firmly fixed in his heart, 
and also filled with the fondest hopes and most tor- 
menting fears, he started promptly but slowly on his 
anxious and wearisome journey. He has lost all that 
makes his life dear. He is completely stripped of ev- 
erything. He has nothing left. With garments tat- 



Man An Eternal Probationer. 99 



tered and torn ; with feet tired, bruised, and bleeding; 
with heart aching, full, overflowing, and breaking with 
unspeakable anguish, he, with slow, heavy, measured, 
faltering step, at last approaches the dear old home of 
his once happy, innocent, childhood days, which he 
had so rudely and foolishly left for an abandoned life 
of dishonor and total misery. He is most thoroughly 
penitent on account of his inexcusable transgressions ; 
and he is much grieved because of his enormous 
crimes which he has committed against Heaven and in 
the sight of his father. And he does not attempt to 
conceal, palliate, or in any way extenuate his unparal- 
leled guilt. But with a consuming sorrow and bitter- 
ness of soul, he most frankly confessed all his sins 
which he had so boldly and defiantly put forth. And 
with a distressing consciousness and a crushing sense 
of unworthiness, he modestly submits his case, and 
does not claim the confidence or even ask tO' be re- 
stored to the affections of the injured father, whom he 
feels he has so cruelly and causelessly wronged. But 
that kind and generous father was the first of all to 
discern his coming : "But while he was yet afar off his 
father saw him, and was moved with compassion, and 
ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him." 

And so it was that the faithful father's ever-watch- 
^ful eye of yearning love caught the first glimpse of the 
pitiable form of his poor, weeping, ruined, prodigal 
boy, as he was returning to him. And his noble pater- 
nal soul was moved to its mighty depths. And he ran 
forth to meet him with the unequaled alacrity and un- 
conscious swiftness of a father's infinite love, and fold- 
ing him warmly to his joyous bosom, with unutter- 
able affection and undying fervor he kissed him an 

a.ofC. 



ICMD Man An Eternal Probationer. 



eternal welcome to his forgiving heart and happy 
home. That was a moment of transcendent bliss both 
to the glad father and his recovered boy. 

Thus we are permitted to witness with devout 
amazement the abounding joy of the bright angelic 
host above over the bringing back of the lost sheep to 
the deserted fold. Now the interest which these celes- 
tial spirits feel and the delight which they manifest, 
when a sinner is brought to God, may evince some- 
thing more than a general concern which all pure, holy 
beings must share in common with each other in the 
present prosperity, and in anticipation of the final suc- 
cess of the cause of God in the perfect happiness of all 
created intelligences. The extraordinary desire which 
they exhibit to look into these things is a sufHcient evi- 
dence that they are personally concerned in them. 
Hence they are spoken of as bending forward, or 
stooping over the grand scheme of redemption that 
they may watch it in its wonderful unfoldings and prac- 
tical workings; and so, by constant, close, and intense 
study, be able to look do\\Ti to the bottom of it. Their 
ov^^n stability in bliss and security in glory may, in 
some way unknown to us, be involved in it. 

And then the salvation of man seems in itself to 
be a matter of great pleasure to them. "It is the only 
joy on earth with which we have proof that angels 
sympathize." 

And in the discovery of the lost piece of silver, and 
its restoration to its vacant place, we are specially re- 
minded of the rapturous delight of ''the spirits of just 
men made perfect," whose innumerable multitude has 
come together from all the countries of earth and all 
the ages of the world, and is resting in the beautiful 



Man An Eternal Probationer. loi 

groves, on the flowery plains and Elysian fields of 
Paradise, the fair realm of the invisible Hades. 

There sweeps no desolating wind 
Across that calm, serene abode. 

And here we have one of the most precious and 
Comforting assurances that has been given to us any- 
where in the entire Bible in reference to our loved and 
sainted ones who have been taken from us and our 
happy homes in this life and transported to the ever- 
lasting joys beyond. Our eyes are dull and holden 
now so that we cannot see them ; but from their lofty 
heights of undimmed vision and undisturbed peace, 
hke clouds of kindly protection, they constantly hover 
over us and look down upon us. And our welfare in 
all lines of spiritual development and religious enjoy- 
ment is a perennial source of ecstatic pleasure to them. 
When we are happy here on earth, it makes them shout 
in heaven. Our conversion from sin to righteousness, 
the regeneration of our spirits, the purity of our souls, 
the sanctity of our bodies, and our continued preserva- 
tion unto eternal life, thrill them with endless bliss 
and wreathe their gleaming faces with fadeless smiles 
of gladness. 

But at last we behold the grandest of all great festi- 
vals, look upon the most luminous of all brilHant 
lights, listen to the sweetest strains of all musical en- 
tertainments, and gaze upon the most entrancing 
scenes and manifestations of supreme feHcity in 
heaven's endless and tireless dance of transporting, 
overflowing, imperishable rapture and rejoicing on the 
occasion of the return of the prodigal son, and his 
father's affectionate reception of him from all his 
wicked wanderings, back to his home with all its com- 



I02 Man An Eternal Probationer. 



forts, honors, and blessings, by granting iiim full, free 
pardon, and an open, unconditional welcome. 

And let us observe that in all these splendid parables 
we are particularly reminded of the important fact that 
it was the last and only lost sheep that was sought and 
found. And when it was brought back to the fold, the 
flock was unbroken. The man had but one hundred 
sheep in the beginning, and he folded that number in 
the end. He lost nothing which he did not find. 

It was also the last and only lost piece of silver that 
was hunted and regained. And when it was placed in 
the hand of the well-pleased owner, the number of 
coins was complete. The woman had only ten pieces 
in the beginning, and she counts ten in the end ; so she 
possesses all she ever had. 

And it was the last and the only lost prodigal son 
who came back, weeping over his sins and pleading 
for pardon, from the foreign country of suffering, sor- 
row, starvation, and death, and was forgiven and re- 
ceived by his father into his jubilant house of perpetu- 
al rejoicing. And he was welcomed back with the 
grandest demonstrations of festive delight and glad- 
ness because in his return the family circle was made 
complete. When he came in, there was not a missing 
Hnk in the perfect golden chain of home happiness to 
niar its beauty or diminish its everlasting peace. The 
father never had but two sons, and now he shall have 
them forever with him in the sacred joy of his perfect 
home. 

And we cannot but think that these inspired illus- 
trations are intended to represent to us the happiest 
hour that can come up in the history of the uncounted 
worlds that float in the flashing depths of immensity. 



Man An Eternal Probationer. 103 



And in ceaseless celebration of this most conspicuous 
occasion, let the mighty shout of universal triumph 
ring through all the spheres : 
Hallelujah: for the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigneth. 

In taking our leave of this remarkable group of 
splendid parables, we deem it proper to call special at- 
tention to the unity of design which pervades them. 
They do not teach that God, in saving men, deals radi- 
cally different with different kinds of sinners. "These 
examples represent not two distinct experiences, but 
two sides of the same fact. It is not that some of fallen 
human kind are saved after the manner of the strayed 
sheep, and others after the manner of the prodigal 
son; not that the Saviour bears one wanderer home 
by his power, and another of his own accord arises 
and returns to the Father. Both these processes are 
accomplished in every conversion. The man comes, 
yet Christ brings him; Christ brings him, yet he 
comes." 

So it is sovereign grace and human agency working 
together in perfect harmony to the same end — the 
salvation of the soul. 



UT we come now to the examination of cer- 
tain texts of Scripture which are supposed 
to teach that the destinies of men are fixed 
unchangeably for the future at death. 
The wicked shall be turned back unto Sheol, 
Even all the nations that forget God. 

When the psalmist uttered these famous words, it is 
altogether evident that the fate of the wicked in the 
future world in none of its alarming features whatever 




I04 Man An Eternal Probationer. 



was present to his mind. At that particular time all 
such frightful thoughts must have been foreign to him. 
Clearly his only intention was to point out the certain 
and swift overthrow — that sudden and unexpected 
discomfiture — ^which is always liable, and most likely 
to come upon impious men who place themselves in 
active opposition to the Lord and fight stubbornly 
against his plans and purposes. And his notions and 
words in regard to the matter are confined strictly and 
solely to this life. He does not attempt to follow the 
unfortunate persons of whom he is speaking beyond 
death and the grave, either in imagination or expres- 
sion. He uses exactly the same form of speech in the 
third verse of this very Psalm. But there he employs 
it in describing the violent end which overtook his own 
enemies who seem to have been pursuing him at the 
time : 

When mine enemies turn back, 

They stumble and perish at thy presence. 

Now a little consideration given to the subject at 
this particular point will enable us to understand more 
fully and correctly his obvious meaning in the seven- 
teenth verse. Observe carefully that the emphasis 
should by no means be placed upon the bare fact that 
the wicked are "turned back unto Sheol," which 
is an event that comes alike, sooner or later, to all 
men, even to the best of them as well as to the worst. 
But the stress is designed to be put upon the unantici- 
pated time, place, and manner of its coming. And it 
is here assumed that their sad and speedy removal 
from life will not only be a great surprise to them, but 
that it will also bring along with it the unmistakable 
marks and tokens of a divine judgment. 



Man An Eternal Probationer. 105 



However, if we were to allow that it may have a di- 
rect appHcation to the doom of the wicked in the world 
to come, still it could render no assistance in settHng 
the question which is in contention, for it fails at the 
main point for the establishment of v/hich it has been 
pressed into service, as it discloses nothing at all about 
the nature or duration of future punishment. 

And if a tree fall toward the soudi, or toward the north, 
in the place where the tree falleth, there shall it be. 

HERE is not the shghtestor remotest allusion 
here to the condition of a man, in any re- 
spect whatever, after death. And it is re- 
markable, not to say perfectly astounding, 
that any such an idea ever could have been extracted, 
rather extorted, from it. Such a sense is altogether for- 
eign to its obvious meaning. And it is difficult to con- 
ceive of a construction vvdiich could be forced upon it 
that would more violently and arbitrarily wring and 
twist it from its only natural and reasonable applica- 
tion to the plain facts in the case. Solom^on is simply 
tr3dng to induce and encourage the people to be more 
hospitable, generous, and charitable to one another. 
And to influence them to engage in these things more 
readily and freely, he gives them the fullest assurance 
that such noble deeds of kindness ought to be done, 
for they are commendable in themselves as they are 
right, and can never fail in the end to bring back a 
rich reward to the sincere and unselfish donor. There- 
fore, he insists that they shall not deal out their help- 
ful benefits with a stinted hand or grudging heart ; 
but urges them to scatter their benevolent distribu- 




io6 Man An Eternal Probationer. 



tions abroad in the greatest abundance without spe- 
cial regard to the outward appearances of things. 
Hear him : 

Cast thy bread upon the waters; for thou shalt find it 
after many da^^s. Give a portion to seven, yea, even unto 
eight; for thou knov/est not what evil shall be upon the 
earth. 

And he further enforces his wise admonitions to 
charitable contributions and actions by reminding 
them of the important fact that in the drifting and 
shifting course of divine providence many unlooked- 
for changes take place in the affairs of men. Some- 
times the poor become rich, and the rich get to be very 
poor. And it seems to be a cardinal principle in phi- 
lanthropy that he who willfully neglects the golden op- 
portunity for helping others when he could do so can- 
not complain if they refuse to assist him in the time of 
his poverty and need. Xo man should demand or ex- 
pect aid from his fellows who never conferred such fa- 
vors upon them in their destitution and want. It often 
happens in the turning of the fateful wheel of capri- 
cious fortune that the most independent are found in 
the passing of the years as utterly helpless as a fallen 
tree, which must lie in its place of dust and sand, 
w'hether prostrated toward the warm south or prone 
toward the cold north, until some strong hand shall 
lift it up and place it into a more suitable position. 
But a man in such a condition who has blessed others 
has a perfect, divine right to expect com.fort in his 
misfortune and desperate estate. And he shall not be 
disappointed. It will come to him. 

But there can be no allusion in this quotation to 
anything that may take place in another mode of ex- 



Man An Eternal Probationer. 107 



istence. And to enforce the ordinary interpretation 
upon it has about as much reason in it as there would 
be in concluding from the terms contained in the first 
member of this same verse — "If the clouds be full of 
rain, they empty themselves upon the earth" — that 
these clouds, which are filled with water, and emptying 
them^selves upon the dry and parched ground, to bless 
and fructify it, so as to make the green, tender grass 
grow, and cause the sweet, fragrant flowers to bloom, 
are, instead of all these delightful things, heavily 
charged with wrathful fire, ready to be poured out in 
copious showers of burning curses upon the sinful 
ones of earth. 

The one inference or explanation is as consistent 
with truth as the other; and no more so. They are 
both palpably erroneous and grossly absurd. Noth- 
ing can be plainer to the thoughtful. 

Sheol from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy 
coming; it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief 
ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all 
the kings of the nations. 

VERY sad change is here depicted by the 
eminent Judean prophet concerning the 
most wretched situation of the unfortunate 
king of Babylon. He describes him as be- 
ing torn ruthlessly away from the overwhelming 
majesty, pomp, and splendor of his magnificent palace 
of sinful luxury. He is represented as hurled out, and 
rushed into the melancholy regions of Sheol, because 
of his overweening self-conceit, arrogant pride, and 
cruel oppression. And it seems that his appearance in 
the gloomy realm of earth's departed ones was so sud- 




io8 Man An Eternal Probationer. 



den and unlocked for that the shades of the heroes 
and of the mighty dead were for the moment startled 
and thrown into confusion at his unexpected presence 
and pitiable plight. He is seen stripped of royal claims, 
lofty mien, military bearing, despotic power, and re- 
duced to utter helplessness. And in the commotion of 
the hour they appear to the vision of the prophet as 
coming hastily together to behold, reproach, and 
mock him in his great humiliation. These disturbed 
spirits are evidently the kings and princes v/hom this 
most haughty, overbearing, turbulent monarch had 
defeated, degraded, and afflicted in this life. The w^hole 
dissertation, throughout, is extremely metaphorical. 
And it settles nothing as regards the affairs of the de- 
parted in connection with the future. 

And there is not the shghtest hint in it to the pun- 
ishm^ent of the king of Babylon in the world to come 
for his wacked conduct on earth. The impenetrable 
veil of unbroken concealment is dropped upon the 
scene at death. So we are not permitted to look upon 
anything that took place after the entrance of the great 
monarch into Sheol. The history is perfectly silent 
as to his future destiny. We are left in hopeless igno- 
rance concerning it. Inquiry in that direction is vain. 

The sinners in Zion are afraid; trembling has seized the 
godless ones: Who among us can dwell with the devouring 
fire? who among us can dwell with everlasting burnings? 

T is astonishingly strange that this plain, 
simple scripture should, at any time, under 
any circumstances, have been quoted by any 
one in support of the popular dogma of the 
future, unconditional, endless torture of incorrigible 




Man An Eternal Probationer. 109 



criminals in the moral government of God. No 
thought could possibly be more radically antagonistic 
and thoroughly repugnant to its real meaning than the 
actual fires and fadeless flames of an eternal and 
hopeless perdition. 

It has no such an import, and can have no such an 
application. Why, as extraordinary and unaccount- 
able as it may appear to some, "the devouring nre" and 
"everlasting burnings," mentioned here by the evan- 
gelical prophet, are nothing more nor less than the 
bright, shining, visible displays of the glory and majes- 
ty of the Lord our God. And if we would satisfy our 
minds fully on this point, it is only necessary for us to 
read the three verses which immediately follow the 
quotation. They contain a satisfactory answer to the 
questions propounded : 

He that walketh rigihteously, and speaketh uprightly; he 
that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his 
hands from taking a bribe, that stoppeth his ears from hear- 
ing of blood, and shntteth his eyes from looking upon evil: 
he shall dwell on high ; his place of defense shall be the muni- 
tions of rocks; his bread shall be given him; his waters shall 
be sure. Thine eyes shall see the King in his beauty: they 
shall behold a land that reacheth afar. 

There is a striking resemblance between these ques- 
tions and the answers to them, and the questions put 
forth in the fifteenth Psalm and the answers which are 
returned to them. No one can read one without being 
forcibly reminded of the other. And they mutually 
assist in explaining each other. 

Now in the instance which we have under advise- 
ment, the clear, comprehensive question is boldly put : 
Who among us is able to approach the awful, burnish- 



no Man An Eternal Probationer. 



ing throne of Jehovah? or who of us can abide in the 
flaming manifestations of his immaculate purity and 
infinite righteousness? And the response is readily 
returned in the verses already referred to as furnishing 
it. And according to it a man must be clean in his in- 
ner life and correct in his outer Hfe before he can dwell 
happily in the presence of God. 

And is it not strongly suggested here that the most 
painful position that a sinner could possibly be placed 
in would be for him to have a clear conception of the 
perfect holiness of the Lord v/ith a full consciousness 
of his own impurities ? Could any condition excel that 
in woefulness and wretchedness? But this is a simple 
suggestion; and that is all. Then the whole of the 
lofty passage is designed to set forth that great, spirit- 
ual preparation which is indispensably essential to fit 
any one and every one to enter into heaven, and enable 
him to stand there in the immediate presence of God, 
rather than to point out that deeply abandoned state 
which must necessarily sink the soul down to hell. 

No ; the dreadful doctrine of unchangeable punish- 
ment in the future history of the ungodly, whether 
true or false, finds no favor or recognition here. It 
does not come to sight. 



And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth 
shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame 
and everlasting contempt. 



HIS is the only clear and specific reference, 
found anywhere in all the voluminous writ- 
ings of the Old Testament, which points with 
anything like certainty to future rewards 
and retributions that must be meted out to the right- 




Man An Eternal Probationer. in 



eous and wicked after the general resurrection and 
final judgment. But there can be no manner of doubt, 
in any reasonable and candid mind, as to the proper 
application and correct meaning of this short and plain 
fragment of holy writ, in connection with these mo- 
mentous matters. And it speaks with a voice of warn- 
ing and admonition to the whole race of mankind, 
during the few rapidly running years of this life and 
throughout the interminable ages of the future. 

But while all this is strictly true, the prophet of the 
captivity does not undertake, or even intimate, an 
answer for the settlement of the anxious inquiry in re- 
gard to the immutable character which many claim the 
destinies of men assume beyond death and the awful 
bar of God's inflexible justice. He leaves that ever 
vexed and most absorbing subject an open question. 
Perhaps he does this on the ground — which is altogeth- 
er sufficient — that these things must always depend 
upon the free and independent choice of men, both in 
this world and that which is to come. And as in the 
one, so in the other, they must be governed by the 
same rules and regulations. Everywhere and under 
all conditions, faith — fiducial trust — in the name of the 
Lord Jesus Christ, must bring pardon, peace, and hap- 
piness ; while disobedience cannot fail to introduce sin, 
suffering, and death. If a man should disobey in heav- 
en, he would wreck his fidelity and lose his crown. 
And if a man should believe in the Son of God in hell, 
he would leave woe and anguish behind and enter weal 
with rejoicing. And so it is, every man holds his 
doom for time and eternity in his own hands and dis- 
poses of it as he wills. He has it forever in his power 
to be righteous or wicked, happy or miserable, just as 



112 Man An Eternal Probationer. 



he likes. He is born with this high prerogative, and 
never parts with it. He cannot. 

Agree with thine adversary quickly, while thou art with 
him in the way; lest haply the adversary deliver thee to the 
judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be 
cast into prison. Verily I say unto thee. Thou shalt by no 
means come out thence, till thou hast paid the last farthing. 

HESE verses contain the very words of the 
Master himself. And they are to be consid- 
ered in direct contact with the context, 
which consists of the four verses preceding 
it, in which our Lord clearly recognizes the universal 
brotherhood of man, which necessarily presupposes 
the divine Fatherhood of God, and from that particu- 
lar standpoint teaches us how we ought to deal with 
one another. And in this special case he finds it im- 
portant to enter into an interpretation of the sixth 
commandment, which he applies to the inward spirit 
of the mind as well as to the overt actions of the life. 
He singles out anger as the wicked disposition, which, 
if encouraged, may result in the commission of mur- 
der — that bloody, wicked deed. Hence he warns us 
against cherishing wrath, holding a grud'ge, or in- 
dulging an unrelenting or unforgiving spirit. All 
these things, as he goes on to shovN^, are far more hurt- 
ful to us than to our fellow-men. For by yielding to 
these evil tempers we are sure to destroy ourselves. 
And, therefore, he earnestly admonishes us to per- 
sistently seek reconciHation to those whom we may 
have wronged while in a fit of bad passion toward 
them. 

And this brings us into close contact with the ref- 




Man An Eternal Probationer. 113 



erence which we have in hand for examination at this 
time, which is clearly parabolical in meaning. He 
uses here simply as an illustration the decision of an 
earthly court which has been passed upon a man for a 
debt that he owes, to remind us of the far greater 
judgment that God may hold over us on account of 
enmity against others for which we have not repented. 

It is generally admitted, we believe, by those hav- 
ing undertaken to expound this scripture, that our 
Lord is speaking of the great and dreadful day of judg- 
ment, when all men will be required to give an account 
of the deeds done in the body, whether they be good 
or bad, in order that they may be duly rewarded or 
punished for the same. 

And here he presents the condition of the wicked 
under the striking similitude of one who is liable for 
an onerous debt. And he urges that the wisest and 
best course that the transgressor can pursue is for 
him to come to terms speedily in this present life, upon 
the good ground that it is much more prudent for the 
arraigned debtor to seek an interview, enter into an 
agreement, and so effect a compromise with the cred- 
itor, "while with him in the way," before he gets him to 
the awful bar of justice, where the judge will take 
charge of the case, and at the end of the trial may hand 
him over to the officer, that the penalty of the law may 
be executed upon him, even unto a hard and rigorous 
imprisonment. And, as every one must realize, this is 
the only proper step that the impenitent sinner can 
take. What a fearful error it is to neglect the salva- 
tion of the soul ! It is the saddest and the most fatal 
mistake that any man ever made. And like the debtor 
here cited to trial, and advised to adjust matters with 
8 



114 Man An Eternal Probationer. 

the adversary before entering into a legal contest with 
him at the tribunal of stern justice, it v/ould certainly 
be of infinite advantage to the sinner for him to be- 
come reconciled to God ere he is called upon to meet 
him in judgment ; for it must be a fearful thing to ap- 
pear before ''the judgment seat" of a rejected Christ. 
And surely no torture could equal the extreme bitter- 
ness of agony and intolerable remorse of soul v^hich 
must always arise inevitably from a consciousness of 
the unparalleled guilt of having carelessly, cruelly, and 
obstinately neglected and spurned, all through this life, 
the standing offer of a full and free pardon of all sin 
upon the easy condition of faith in the atoning and 
sanctifying blood of the "Son of man," who must at 
last, as our Judge, crown us in glory or confine us in 
the dungeons of perdition. 

As for the duration of the term of the imprisonment 
inflicted upon the insolent debtor, it was conditioned 
alone upon the hquidation of the debt in full. And it 
would be well for us to note the fact that no given 
length of time or any special amount of suffering is 
agreed upon as an equivalent for the debt. The simple 
confinement within the prison walls, whether the time 
be long or short, cannot in any way or sense satisfy 
the unpaid claim. The whole debt must be canceled 
in currency. And the imprisonment cannot come to 
an end until this is done. If the prisoner cannot meet 
it — and he cannot — some one else must, before he can 
be released from his cell. 

But the contention is made vigorously that whatever 
may be allowed in the case of the delinquent debtor, 
when the obdurate sinner has been banished from the 
peaceful presence of God and committed to the dismal 



Man An Eternal Probationer. 115 



pits of perdition, his condition is necessarily rendered 
hopeless, for the simple reason that he must remain 
forevermore insolvent and helpless. Therefore, it is 
strenuously insisted upon that he must suffer eternally. 
But is it not equally true that he is as completely 
bankrupt and as utterly unable to meet the claims of 
divine justice against him in this life as he can possibly 
be in the world to come, and if met at all, anywhere or 
at any time, it must be done for him by another? And 
in this case our Lord throws much Hght upon this par- 
ticular feature of the question. He does vastly more 
than to give out a strong intimation that the settle- 
ment of the debt has been provided for, and that it can 
be paid off and the prisoner released. And we know 
full well the only way in which this can take place, so 
far as the sinner is concerned in this life : it is by faith 
in Jesus Christ. And when he beHeves, no difference 
where, he must be saved. 

And this seems to be the very thought which our 
Lord is endeavoring to im.press upon us in this in- 
stance. And we cannot see how he could have been 
clearer in his explanation than he has been. If he has 
failed to make the matter perfectly plain to every one, 
it is simply because it is impossible for it to be done. 
It does seem that he had the final disposition of the 
dreadful dogma of the unconditional, endless punish- 
ment of the lost in the future world directly in view 
when he was uttering these subhme sentiments. For 
if he had stopped — ceased to speak further — when he 
so emphatically affirmed, "Verily, I say unto thee, 
Thou shalt by no means come out thence," the ever- 
lasting confinement of the lost sinner in perdition 
would have been estabhshed beyond the possibiHty of 



ii6 Man An Eternal Probationer. 



change. But when he, with manifest deliberation and 
thoughtfulness, added, 'Till you have paid the last 
farthing," with his own tender hand he intentionally 
slipped the strong bolts of perdition. And then it was 
that an ever-brightening gleam of hope shone forth in 
beauty from the infinite depths of divine mercy, and 
went speedily forward, borne upon the welcome wings 
of the angel of pity, and glimmered with kindling 
splendor through all the dreary and desolate regions 
of damnation, until eternal hope revived in every 
hopeless bosom. 

And these shall go away into eternal punishment: but the 

righteousness into eternal life. 

HIS very familiar and popular text of Scrip- 
ture occupies a prominent position in the ex- 
tensive literature of the Church in regard to 
the punishment of the wicked in the future 
world, which is generally acknowledged to be one of 
the most abstruse and difficult questions found in the 
wide range of New Testament eschatology. And it is 
always in demand when an investigation or discussion 
of this subject is going on. Generally on such occa- 
sions much learned criticism is indulged in by the zeal- 
ous and enthusiastic disputants. In the fierce and 
often fruitless logomachy, the words themselves are 
subjected to the closest, severest, and most crucial 
tests. Of course this is done to get at their true mean- 
ing. All of which is well enough, right and proper. 
No one, on reasonable grounds, could produce a le- 
gitimate objection to it. Much good has come out of 
it to many, and perhaps no harm has resulted from it 




Man An Eternal Probationer. 117 



to any. But so far as we are interested in the matter — 
and that is a great deal — we are frank to confess that 
we do not see any special need of the verbal criticism 
argument; for the simple reason that the words and 
terms contained in the quotation take their special 
signification more particularly from their grammatical 
arrangement and association in the structure of the 
sentence than from their radical meaning and etymo- 
logical combination. Comparatively speaking, it is a 
matter of small moment whether the Greek adjective, 
which is represented in the English translation by the 
word '"eternal," .really signifies endless duration or 
simply a limited period of time. For instance, to make 
it as clear as possible to the mind, to say that ''these 
shall go away into eternal punishment" is altogether 
different in meaning from the similar expression, "and 
these shall go away into punishment eternally." The 
first form of speech denotes that the punishment itself 
is eternal; but at the same time it allows that these 
may go away into it only for a definite term; while in 
the other form it is positively stated that these shall go 
away into it to remain there forever. In the one case 
the punishment may be Hmited and its continuation 
made dependent upon circumstances ; but in the other, 
it is entirely unconditional and absolute. 

And by way of illustration we may say that the 
penitentiary or state prison is an eternal institution for 
the punishment, correction, and reformation of crimi- 
nals. But it does not follow of necessity that when a 
man is placed within those dismal walls he has gone 
in there to stay forever. Offenders against law and or- 
der are put in there to serve out different periods of 
time. And as these expire, they return to liberty. 



ii8 Man An Eternal Probationer. 

And so it may be with the wicked in the future 
w^orld. There they must suffer for the crimes done in 
the days of the flesh. But in their case there will be 
this exception and essential difference : the lost sinner 
must endure the extreme tortures and pangs of con- 
demnation until he repents and believes, which he may 
do at any moment and be released. Suffering, how- 
ever severe or protracted, can never atone for sin. 
But faith in the blood of Jesus Christ never fails to 
bring pardon, and always cleanses the soul from the 
foulest stains and deepest guilt. 

But after all, what we have said may not be entirely 
satisfactory to some. They may not so clearly per- 
ceive or fully appreciate the distinction which we 
make betv:een the adjective and adverbial forms of the 
word ''eternal." They may look upon them as being 
more imaginary than real. 

And the ihustration taken from the penitentiary may 
also be regarded as insufficient, inasmuch as it is not, 
in fact, an eternal institution. 

So we will try to make the matter perfectly satis- 
factory, if we can do so, by using an example from the 
Holy Scriptures. The apostate angels, the first trans- 
gressors and oldest sinners in the government of God, 
so far as our knowledge extends, were once, according 
to the popular interpretation of the Bible account of 
the matter, in a heaven of eternal happiness; but they 
fell away from it, and were cast into hell : 

God spared not angels when they sinned, but cast them 
down to hell (Greek, Tartarus), and committed them to pits 
of darkness to be reserved unto judgment. 

And angels that kept not their own principality, but left 
their proper habitation, he hath kept in everlasting bonds 
under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. 



Man An Eternal Probationer. 119 



Now when these disobedient spirits were ejected 
from the heaven of eternal happiness, it continued un- 
disturbed in the duration of its bliss, as if they had re- 
mained there in it. It was not affected in the least, one 
way or another, by their action or destiny. 

And this is proof enough that lost souls may come 
up out of perdition without interfering in any way what- 
ever with the continuation of that dreadful place. It 
does not necessarily follow that because hell may be a 
prison of eternal punishment, if indeed for a moment 
we were to admit for the sake of argument the mere 
possibility of the truthfulness of such a revolting prop- 
osition, that just simply on that account when a 
man goes there he is obliged to stay forever. If 
that were true, when the angels were in heaven, 
which is a place of eternal happiness, they would have 
been compelled to continue there always. If they 
sinned and fell from eternal bliss, men may repent and 
come out of eternal misery. Both occurrences are 
equally reasonable. And if one has taken place, the 
other may come to pass. There can be no doubt of 
that. 

But the truth is, Heaven and Hell are not abstract 
places of weal or woe, existing independently, of them- 
selves, separate and apart from everything else. But 
they are simply concrete conditions or states of hap- 
piness or misery, which we make for and in ourselves 
hy our virtuous or vicious manner of living. It takes 
vastly more than mere locations or outward surround- 
ings to bring blessedness or wretchedness to intelli- 
gent, immortal, and responsible beings. These are 
things that they create for themselves, and hold in 
possession by their own voluntary obedience or dis- 
obedience to the will of God. 



120 Man An Eternal Probationer. 



Verily I say unto you, All their sins shall be forgiven unto 
the sons of men, and their blasphemies wherewith soever 
they shall blaspheme: but whosoever shall blaspheme against 
the Holy Spirit hath never forgiveness, but is guilty of an 
eternal sin: because they said, He hath an unclean spirit. 

HERE is one, and only one, unpardonable 
sin. It is mentioned alone in the three syn- 
optic gospels. Matthew, Mark, and Luke 
give an account of it. The words and terms 
which they employ in speaking of it are very much 
aHke. Besides these references, there is no other al- 
lusion to it by any of the inspired writers. We have 
the only statement of it from our Lord himself. He 
invariably calls it ''the blasphemy against the Holy 
Spirit." Then it can hardly be considered correct to 
denominate it ''the unpardonable sin," though this is 
almost universally done. But still it is clearly a mis- 
nomer. And in the interest of truth, as well as for the 
sake of accuracy, its use should be diligently avoided. 

Jesus significantly and sharply contrasts it with all 
the other sins and blasphemies committed by men or 
known among them. Evidently this peculiar form was 
not a mere accident upon his part. He adopted it in- 
tentionally and with a definite purpose in view. He 
designed to isolate it from all the other sins and blas- 
phemies that men are liable to engage in. And let it 
be borne in mind that he who may become guilty of 
this most fearful and fatal of all sins is doomed thereby 
to eternal and inevitable destruction. Nor is a repeti- 
tion of the error necessary to accompUsh with infinite 
certainty the hopeless ruin of the soul. Committed 
once, the unfortunate offender is forthwith condemned 
in this world and surely damned in the next, and with- 




Man An Eternal Probationer. 121 



out any chance of escape at that. Truly it is a unique 
sin — strange in its nature and most extraordinary in 
its results. And it has given rise to as much real per- 
plexity and painful anxiety to the puzzled minds of 
honest inquirers after the truth as any other question 
in the expansive and varied range of the wide realm 
of Christian theology. And it is neither in accord- 
ance with divine revelation nor human reason to sup- 
pose that a subject of such vast and vital importance 
to mankind should be left veiled in the dark mist and 
impenetrable gloom of mystery. Of all other things, 
it would seem that it ought to be made the plainest. 
And this being true, we may expect to meet with no 
very serious trouble in our earnest endeavor to study 
it out, if we only look right straight into the face of the 
Scriptures. 

Blasphemia is a word of frequent occurrence in the 
writings of the Greek Testament. And it is translated 
in manifold ways in our English versions by such 
terms as "blasphemy," "revile," "slanderously report- 
ed," "being defamed," "evil speaking," "railings." 

According to these examples, the sin of blasphemy 
consists in verbal abuse. The nature of the crime is 
always the same. Its magnitude and turpitude, how- 
ever, depend upon the dignity and majesty of the one 
against whom it is vented and the relation sustained by 
the transgressor to him. But to comprehend more 
fully and clearly what "the blasphemy against the Holy 
Spirit is, which is pronounced by our Saviour to be 
"an eternal sin," and for which there can be no pardon 
in time or eternity, we must look closely to the par- 
ticular circumstances which gave rise to his forcible 
and fearful remarks in connection with it. 



122 Man An Eternal Probationer. 



We learn from the inspired history of the matter that 
our Lord had just expelled a demon from an unfortu- 
nate man who was both "blind and dumb." Now when 
the unclean spirit was cast out of him, the man was en- 
abled to see and speak. And on account of this miracle 
the people who witnessed it were about to receive him 
as the promised Messiah. They exclaimed with won- 
der and admiration, ''Can this be the Son of David?" 
"But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This man 
doth not cast out demons, but by Beelzebub the prince 
of the demons." It is clear from this that "the blas- 
phemy against the Holy Spirit," speaking in general 
termaS, is declaring from the most malevolent inten- 
tions, and in open violence to the deepest convictions 
of judgment, that Jesus wrought his mJracles directly 
through the agency of the supreme demon, and not by 
the Spirit of God, as he claimed. It is spitefully attrib- 
uting the wonders which Christ performed, in attes- 
tation of his holy mission into this world to save men, 
to the influence of Satan. It is wickedly accusing him, 
against light and knowledge, of being in compact with 
the powers of darkness to carry out successfully the 
most vncked designs of an impostor. Such v/ould be 
the terrible offense which is here described. 

But "the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit" is fur- 
ther marked out by several distinguishing features and 
peculiarities. 

First. It is confined to the Third Person in the 
adorable Trinity. The presence of three distinct Per- 
sonalities in the unity of the Godhead denotes the nat- 
ural and necessary mode of the divine existence, and 
also designates their union and associations with each 
other forever, and their sepci^al relations to man in 



Man An Eternal Probationer. 123 



connection with the work of redemption. Arid it is 
only when considered in this particular light that a 
man may blaspheme against any one of them in an 
official sense without involving either of the others. 

Second. It is restricted to the tongue. It belongs 
to the utterance of the voice, made in audible expres- 
sion. The power of speech is fraught with the means 
of the highest happiness or the deepest misery to men. 
In vindication of this proposition, listen to the rich 
man's fervent but fruitless prayer in Hades to Abra- 
ham: 

And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on 
me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in 
water, and cool my tongue ; for I am in anguish in this flame. 

He does not seek to obtain relief for any other mem- 
ber of his suffering body, however full of guilt and 
pain it may have been. It would seem from this that 
the fierce, burning, consuming, and intolerable agonies 
of his damnation had accumulated upon his tongue, 
and had intensified upon the painfully tortured organ 
of human speech. Perhaps he had censured and re- 
proached the beggar in this life with that unruly mem- 
ber of the body which is nov/ made the center of the 
anguish of his perdition. What a startling warning 
against an unwise and unwary use of the tongue ! 

Third. It is limited to those Jews who were living 
in the days of the incarnation, and were contempora- 
ries with '^the Son of man" while he was on the earth. 
And no one else has ever been in any danger what- 
ever of committing this most dreadful and destructive 
of all sins. 

Fourth. And with all its imminent perils and most 
terrible results, this extraordinary sin is bounded 



124 M3,n An Eternal Probationer. 



strictly by the brief duration of the public ministry of 
our Lord among men. And when his divine mission 
here on earth closed, the possibility of the exposure of 
man to this high offense against the Holy Spirit was 
forever obliterated. 

So we may conclude with full confidence that in or- 
der that any one may have been able to perpetrate this 
most awful and presumptuous of all iniquities— "the 
blasphemy against the Holy Spirit" — he must have 
been a pure, genuine Jew, living in the land of Judea in 
the days of the public ministry of Jesus Christ, and 
perfectly conversant with all the Hebrew prophecies 
which relate to him and point him out distinctly as the 
promised Messiah. He must also have had ocular 
and auricular demonstrations of the miraculous 
works and marvelous words of the distinguished de- 
scendant from king David, which prove absolutely 
that he was the Chosen One, the Anointed of the ever- 
lasting Father. And then he must have, in sheer de- 
fiance, in the very face of the overwhelming and irre- 
sistible conviction of his mind and heart, maHciously 
pronounced the whole majestic system of redeeming 
mercy and recovering grace a most stupendous fraud, 
and viciously declared its holy Author in collusion with 
the prince of all evil, to deceive, mislead, and ruin men. 

There is no man now living upon the bright surface 
of the broad earth that is in the least danger whatever 
of becoming guilty of "the blasphemy against the Holy 
Spirit." There is no such a thing now as an unpar- 
donable sin; there never was until Jesus Christ was 
found tabernacling in the flesh among men in this 
world, and never has been since he ascended upon the 
beautiful cloud from the glory-covered top of Mount 



Man An Eternal Probationer. 125 



Olivet back to heaven, and never will be any more. 
All men everywhere, even the most wicked and reck- 
less, as they are roving about in the blackest regions 
of sin and rioting fooHshly in the foulest dens and 
dives of iniquity, can easily and readily obtain a full 
and free remission of all their past offenses by a simple 
and honest compliance with the reasonable and ef- 
fective terms of "the gospel of the grace of God.*' 
And we feel ourselves altogether safe in assuming the 
position that no one has ever been so unfortunate as 
to have committed this most destructive of all crimes. 

We are truly glad to find that the first offer of for- 
giving mercy was made immediately after the death 
and resurrection of Jesus, aHke and indiscriminately 
to all his enemies, opposers, persecutors, and murder- 
ers. Many of them accepted it promptly, and were 
saved. 

Then it is obvious that the only persons who have 
lived and could have committed this "eternal sin," for 
which there could be no pardon, heeded the timely 
warning so mercifully given to them by "the Son of 
man," and happily escaped the most awful fate of 
hopeless despair which it would certainly have brought 
upon them. 

But in speaking of this peculiar sin, St. Matthew 
represents the Saviour as saying in case any one should 
commit the great sin : 

"It shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, nor in 
that which is to come" — neither in time nor eternity. 

By this form of expression Jesus could have meant 
but one thing ; and that must be the potent fact that all 
the sins and blasphemies known unto men may be for- 
given them, both in this world and in that which is to 



126 Man An Eternal Probationer. 



come, excepting this one, the most flagrant and fatal 
of them all, and which can never be pardoned, neither 
in this life nor in that which is to come. And if this is 
not his meaning, we are at a complete loss to find any- 
thing Hke an intelligent interpretation to his plain lan- 
guage. For he could have had no reason whatever, 
that we can see, for speaking of these sins and blasphe- 
mies as he does, in connection with the world to come, 
if they could not be forgiven in the future. Then it 
seems perfectly plain that he intended to teach that "all 
their sins shall be forgiven imto the sons of men, and 
their blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blas- 
pheme," both in this life and in that life which is to 
come, with the sole exception of "the blasphemy against 
the Holy Spirit." If sins are not forgi^^en in the other 
world, why should Jesus mention the matter at all in 
his discourse? AVe can see no reason for it. But if 
they are pardoned over there, as here in this life, his 
words are proper, right, and straight to the purpose ; 
otherwise, they seem unnecessary, not to say out of 
place. 

And this idea of salvation from sin in the future 
world comports exactly with what St. Peter says : 

Because Christ also suffered for sins once, the righteous 
for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God; being 
put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; in 
which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison, 
that aforetime were disobedient, when the long-suffering 
of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a 
preparing. 

Any attempt to explain this scripture, by simply 
saying that it signifies that Christ preached by his 
Spirit through Noah to the antediluvians, is purely 
arbitrary. And it violently forces upon the plain Ian- 



Man An Eternal Probationer. 127 

guag'e of eternal truth a foreign construction which 
is by no means admissible. For the apostle tells us 
most positively, and as clearly as he possibly could 
have spoken it, that the preaching which Christ did to 
these spirits in prison, who had been disobedient in 
the days of Noah, was done by him after his death 
upon the cross and before his resurrection from the 
sepulcher. Then we are to understand him as mean- 
ing that our Lord entered the place appointed and 
set apart for the retention and detention of all disem- 
bodied human spirits, both saved and lost, during the 
interval between his crucifixion upon Calvary and his 
resuscitation from the grave, and preached (Greek, 
heralded, or proclaimed) the gospel of salvation to lost 
sinners who were at that time confined as prisoners in 
the melancholy realm of Hades, elsewhere called Tar- 
tarus. 

And it is clearly intimated here that the Saviour 
filled this important mission of his redeeming work in 
the incompleteness of his personal existence. His 
body, which was mortal like the bodies of all other 
men, and therefore subject to death, dissolution, and 
decay, did -actually expire upon the cross in great pain 
and agony, and was at this time still slumbering in 
the rock vault of the tomb. But he was "quickened 
in the spirit." And so his spirit, embodied in his soul, 
and thus preserving his consciousness and identity as 
''the Son of man,'* went forth carrying the message of 
love and life, and delivered it to the sinful spirits who 
were lingering in their dreary dungeons on account 
of their disobedience in patriarchal times. And from 
this we may see that it is possible for the disembodied 
spirits of the pure and good to have access to, and ad- 



128 Man An Eternal Probationer. 



minister unto, the souls of the lost in holy things, 
which may lead to their salvation even after the death 
of the body. 

But some may suppose that this extraordinary min- 
istry of our Lord was granted for some special reason 
to these particular transgressors who lived anterior to 
the flood, and denied to all other offenders. But this 
same inspired writer, whose words we are now con- 
sidering, in another part of this very epistle, removes 
all restrictions and makes it absolutely universal : 

For unto this end was the gospel preached even to the 
dead, that they might be judged indeed according to men in 
the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit. 

It is here asserted in plain and unmistakable terms 
that the gospel is still preached to men after death, 
just as it is to living ones. The form and sense of the 
divine declaration carry along with it the strongest 
indication that it is presented to them who have gone 
beyond the shores of time in the same way and for the 
same purpose that it is proclaimed to them in this life. 
And hence it appears that there is no break or serious 
interruption made in the probationary state of man 
by death. But, on the contrary, it is perfectly clear 
that there is an unchanging continuation of the pos- 
sibility of repentance, faith, and salvation from sin in 
the next mode of existence, just as there is in this life. 
And the ofifer is extended there on precisely the same 
principles and terms that it is here. 

And the demand and necessity for such a course are 
clearly seen in the well-known fact that there are many 
great and unavoidable inequalities and disparities in 
the opportunities and advantages granted unto men 
in this world, rendering it easy and almost certain for 



Man An Eternal Probationer. 129 



some to know and perform the will of God ; and at the 
same time making it very difficult and well-nigh im- 
possible for others to release themselves from pollu- 
tion and iniquity. And in verification of this truth we 
are not obliged to go away to heathen lands, where 
Christ and his religion are unknown and unheard of ; 
but right here in our midst some are born in Christian 
homes of refinement and purity, and trained into 
beautiful lives of honesty and reHgion, while others 
find their birthplace in the dirty slums of wickedness 
and wretchedness, from the filth and sinfulness of 
which they can scarcely free themselves in a whole life- 
time. They are born, bred, and brought up in foul- 
ness and crime. They can hardly be held accountable 
for what they do. They owe their ignorance and 
criminality to their unfortunate condition and corre- 
spondents in life, rather than to their own choice or 
personal responsibility. 

And it is more than probable that our Lord him- 
self was thinking right along on this line of things when 
he uttered the following most thoughtful words : 

Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for 
if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon which 
were done in you, they would have repented long ago in 
sackcloth and ashes. But I say unto you, it shall be more 
tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for 
you. 

And thou, Capernaum, shalt thou be exalted unto heaven? 
thou shalt go down unto Hades : for if the mighty works had 
been done in Sodom which were done in thee, it would have 
remained until this day. 

This quotation is also found in St. Luke's gospel. 
It is generally resorted to in the argument to prove 
9 



130 Man An Eternal Probationer. 

that guilt and punishment are regulated by, and in 
proportion to, enlightenment and opportunity. And 
while this is recognized as being true, there certainly 
is another idea contained in it which is equally impor- 
tant, and which is made as prominent ; and it is this : 
our heavenly Father has assured us, in the gift of his 
"only begotten Son," that he intends to save all men 
upon the plan which he has set forth in the gospels. 
And we can expect nothing less of him than to carry 
out this pledge, or exhaust the boundless resources of 
the covenant of grace in the effort to do so. And if un- 
favorable conditions and unfortunate surroundings 
should prevent his carrying out successfully this con- 
templated work in time, he must, according to his 
revealed purpose, pursue it to its consummation in 
eternity. And this is most explicitly the leading 
thought in the reference which we have under consid- 
eration. 

Only think of it for one moment seriously and de- 
voutly : Jesus tells us that there are lost souls perhaps 
in perdition now who would have been saved and 
happy in heaven if they could have had certain privi- 
leges and advantages which were afforded to some 
other people. He says that if the wonderful opportu- 
nities had been given to the ancient, rich, proud, gay, 
frolicsome, and idolatrous Phoenician cities, beautiful- 
ly situated on the Mediterranean coast — magnificent 
Tyre and Sidon — which were enjoyed by Chorazin 
and Bethsaida, the indifferent and unbeHeving cities 
on the happy beach of the lovely Galilean sea, their in- 
habitants "would have repented long ago in sackcloth 
and ashes" ; and instead of weeping and wailing in the 
regions of the damned, they would be shouting and 



Man An Eternal Probationer. 131 



rejoicing in the realm of the saved in glory ; for our 
blessed Lord says so. 

And if Sodom, the wicked, wealthy, luxurious, wan- 
ton, and shameless city of the fair and fertile Plain of 
the Jordan, "like the garden of Jehovah," could have 
received the superior blessings that were poured forth 
in rich and abundant showers upon lofty and self-ex- 
alted Capernaum, the home of ''the Son of man," upon 
the border of the lake of Gennesaret, whose shining 
waves are still seen leaping in sparkling glee through 
the sunlight upon the white strand, instead of having 
been swept from the face of the earth by a raging 
storm of fiery indignation sent from the incensed heav- 
ens, would have been yet standing in the days of 
Christ ; for he says so. 

And it follows that the doom-stricken citizens, in 
lieu of "suffering the punishment of eternal fire," would 
have been numbered with "the spirits of just men made 
perfect." 

But may not these blessings and opportunities still 
be extended to them in the lapsing ages of the endless 
future, if God wills it so ? And if, as we beUeve, he is 
impartial to all and unfair to none ; if he desires, as the 
Scriptures teach, the salvation and happiness of the 
whole human family, is he not bound by every princi- 
ple of his nature to still give the things which, if given, 
would result in the rescue and restoration of the lost 
inhabitants of the unfortunate cities already men- 
tioned? And if to them, why not to all others similarly 
situated? And if we rely fully and implicitly upon what 
St. Paul says of him, we can expect nothing less of 
him. The great apostle affirms, "For there is no re- 
spect of persons with God." 



132 Man An Eternal Probationer. 



Marvel not at this : for the hour cometh, in which all that 
are in their tombs shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; 
they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and 
they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of judgment. 




E find ourselves again dealing with the exact 
language of our Lord. Here he is heard as 
he disposes of the mighty questions of the 
universal resurrection of the dead from their 
long, quiet resting place in the grave, and also the im- 
pressive solemnities and momentous decisions of the 
general judgment, vv^hich will introduce the righteous 
to the full enjoyment of eternal life and consign the 
wicked to the agonies of condign punishment. This 
passage of inspired truth and that one in the fifteenth 
verse of the twenty-fourth chapter of the Acts of the 
Apostles are the only places in the New Testament 
writings where the bodily resurrection of both good 
and bad people is positively asserted. Here the divine 
Teacher tells us plainly that the just will be raised up 
from their mortal slumbers in "the dull earth" to life 
again, and that the unjust also shall come up out of 
their vacated tombs to judgment, or oondemmfion. 

But after all, he does not give us the least informa- 
tion as to how long these respective allotments shall 
be continued to the two classes designated by him, or 
to either of them taken separately. Perhaps the reason 
for this very expressive reticence upon his part is to be 
found in the clearly revealed and well-established fact 
that both estates are necessarily conditional and must 
remain so forever. And this being the case, they are 
made altogether dependent upon the free agency of 
the participants themselves. 

Men must be as responsible in the future for their 



Man An Eternal Probationer. 133 

conduct as they are in this Hfe, since God can neither 
be honored nor dishonored in a mere mechanical serv- 
ice. So the continuation of their condition, or any 
change that may be made in the life which Hes beyond 
the grave, the resurrection, and the judgment, must 
be reserved to their own choice. Jesus teaches us, 
both by implication and direct enunciation, that men 
have the same power to form their character and fix 
their destiny after death that they possess before their 
demise. The statements of the Scripture concerning 
the present spiritual conditions of men and their 
chances in the uncertainties of the future for endless 
happiness or misery are always presented as being 
conditional. Sometimes the condition is prominently 
expressed, but it is often apparently concealed. Take 
as an illustration of the latter part of this proposition 
that remarkably strong declaration of our Lord which, 
at the first glance, v/ould seem to teach point-blank 
that the destinies of men are settled summarily and 
unchangeably for time and eternity, on this side of that 
dim and mysterious boundary line which lies between 
life and death : 

He that believeth on the Son hath eternal life; but he 
that obeyeth not (Greek, dishelieveth) the Son shall not see 
life, but the wrath of God abideth on him. 

Now this is a very plain and positive affirmation of a 
powerful truth. But who would think of contending 
in a serious way that because a sinner is at the pres- 
ent moment in a state of obduracy and disobedience 
which closes his eyes to the of¥er of eternal Hfe, and 
places him under the abiding displeasure of God, he 
cannot, at any time that he may wish to do so, repent 
of his sins, believe in Jesus, be forgiven, and attain to 



134 Man An Eternal Probationer. 



the happiness of heaven? Else, why do we constantly 
repeat with zeal and earnestness the call of mercy to 
him ? And it is as reasonable to suppose, and as scrip- 
tural to conclude, that a man who now believes with 
all his heart ''unto" (Greek, infT) "righteousness," and 
''hath eternal life," may, in an evil hour, act so as to 
forfeit the blessed relation which he sustains to God, 
and become a castaway. 

Then, with these weighty truths before us, we may 
be allowed to ask the following question: Can it be 
possible that notwithstanding our marvelous capacity 
and competency for easily and thoroughly changing 
our purposes and plans, during the whole course of 
our lives here, so as to meet the demands and emer- 
gencies upon us, still, we shall, in the few brief years 
assigned to us, with all the fearful disadvantages which 
constantly beset us from the cradle to the grave, so 
firmly establish our habits in vice and iniquity as to fix 
our dreadful doom for woe that we shall never be able 
to unsettle or reverse it while the eternal ages roll? 
Now if such really be the case with us, we may with 
just amazement and bitter disappointment exclaim 
with the wondering poet : 

Great God! on what a slender thread 
Hang everlasting things! 

Who shall suffer punishment, even eternal destruction 
from the face of the Lord and from the glory of his might. 

T. PAUL here gives us his idea of the nature 
and duration of the future punishment of 
the wicked. And surely no treatise on this 
subject can be complete which fails to em- 
body in it the views of the great Jewish apostle of the 




Man An Eternal Probationer. 135 



Gentiles. From his remarkably clear and concise 
statement of the question, we learn that in his opinion, 
which is an inspired one, the lost must endure con- 
scious pain in that world which Hes beyond the bor- 
ders of time, as they will be banished ''from the face 
of the Lord," shut out from all pleasant scenery, and 
confined in woe, with all the haunting memories of the 
past lingering about them and the frightful inticipa- 
tions of the future rising to view. But surely the most 
horrible of all the sensations that can possibly come to 
the wicked in the future world will seize upon them 
when they awake fully to the fearful realization of the 
fact that their impurities and iniquities have incapaci- 
tated them for enjoying the approving countenance of 
their loving Father in heaven, or for appreciating the 
bright and blissful manifestations of his power and glo- 
ry in the magnificent works of his hands in creation, 
or even of the benevolent dispensation of his mercies 
and favor in the grand scheme of human redemption. 

Then after all, perdition, in its truest and fullest 
sense, may consist simply in the loss or privation of 
moral competency and spiritual fitness for holding 
communion with God, on account of vvickedness of 
heart and sinfulness of life. And Cain's awful expe- 
rience is a most striking and impressive exeniphfica- 
tion of this frightful fact : 

And Cain said unto Jehovah, My punishment is greater 
than I can bear. Behold, thou hast driven me out this day 
from the face of the ground; and from thy face shall I be hid. 

This is the bitter lamentation of the first man, born 
of woman, that was cast into hell. In his case banish- 
ment "from the face of the ground" evidently did not 



136 Man An Eternal Probationer. 



mean a physical separation from the surface of the 
earth ; nor did being hid from the face of Jehovah sig- 
nify a Uteral conceahnent from the presence of the 
Lord, in the common acceptation of the term. 

Long after the utterance of this sad exclamation of 
immeasurable and intolerable anguish, he was seen 
walking about, and working upon the earth. He 
doubtless continued to cultivate the rich, prolific soil 
of the ground as he had formerly done, and it yielded 
its productions in unstinted abundance to him ; but he 
found no pleasure in the most delicious fruits or delight 
in the sweetest flowers which it brought forth in ready 
response to his industrious and skillful toil. After his 
great crime which he had unfortunately committed, 
nature in all directions looked dreary and dark to him. 
The heavens above were dusky, the waters below were 
dull, the air he breathed was sufifocating, and the 
whole world wore a sad appearance. His family and 
friends gazed upon him with a melancholy mien of 
threatening disapproval. He felt lonely, guilty, and 
forsaken. And when he tried to turn away from these 
disagreeable and distressing scenes, and looked up- 
ward to Jehovah that he might obtain relief, he found 
that he was no longer permitted to behold the tender, 
complacent smiles of his heavenly Father's benignant 
countenance, which in the earlier days of his innocency 
and purity enraptured his untarnished soul, but which 
since his nefarious act of fratricidal murder were 
strangely converted into repellent frowns of mournful 
wrath toward him. 

But at last the wretched culprit discovers that these 
fearful changes are all within himself and brought 
about solely by himself. It was the distracting remorse 



Man An Eternal Probationer. 137 

of his own guilty soul which had driven all peace of 
mind away from him and left him burning in the rag- 
ing fires of hell — the most consummate of all perdi- 
tions. And such is St. Paul's conception of the ruin 
of the soul in the world to come. And it is bad 
enough. But how long will it last? 

It must continue till repentance toward God and 
faith in our Lord Jesus Christ shall bring back to the 
forgiven and liberated prisoner the restored joys of 
purity of heart and holiness of life. And it is the su- 
preme excellency of the divine system of recovering 
mercy that it secures to all men forever the privilege 
and power of seeking and obtaining salvation from sin 
and destruction in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of 
God. So we may fondly hope that some time in the 
long, weary stretches of the ages to come the last lost 
wanderer will be gathered safely home. 

And be not afraid of them that kill the body, but are not 
able to kill the soul : but rather fear him who is able to de- 
stroy both soul and body in hell (Greek, Gehenna). 

^^^SIOR Special reasons, we have reserved the ex- 
^^^H amination of this text of Scripture for the 

Jesus employs the word Gehenna, which 
has become the accepted term in the New Testament 
for the name and symbol of the world of woe which we 
commonly call hell, about eleven times in his dis- 
courses as reported to us by the evangelists. He uses it 
seven times in the gospel of Matthew, three times in 
the gospel of Mark, and once in the gospel of Luke. 
And we do not find it anywhere else in the gospels, 



138 Man An Eternal Probationer. 



epistles, or apocalypse, except once in the epistle of 
St. James. It does not occur in Acts, nor in the writ- 
ings of St. John, of St. Paul, of St. Peter, of St. Jude, 
nor in the epistle to Hebrews. Its entire absence 
from these ver}^ important portions of inspiration, to 
say the least of it, is quite suggestive. And it is also 
worthy of consideration that our Lord never speaks 
of it as denoting endless torture. He attaches no cuch 
an idea to it. But in every case, where it is alluded to 
by him, its easiest and most natural application would 
be to temporary punishment, inflicted by an earthly 
tribunal upon offenders against law and order in this 
life. Taken in its literal Hebrew sense it means 
the valey of Hinnom, or of the son, or of the chil- 
dren of Hinnom. It is mentioned thirteen times 
in the Old Testament Scriptures. We come upon it 
first in the book of Joshua. Gehenna, or Hinnom, was 
a deep, rough, rocky valley on the south and west of 
Jerusalem, and just outside of the city limits. 

The degrading and detestable worship of Moloch, 
an Ammonitish idol god, v/as set up and practiced in 
the accursed ravine, v/hich m.ade it famous for extreme 
v/ickedness and heart-rending horrors. 

And it is also spoken of as having been defiled by 
cruelly burning living human beings to death with 
flaming fire, and especially helpless infants and little 
children. Now all these things were utterly abhorrent 
to God, and his hottest anger and deepest displeasure 
were ever manifested against them. 

And finally, the place became the general receptacle, 
or com.mon cesspool, for all the vast accumulations of 
filth and pollution in and about the city. And to pre- 
vent the poisonous miasm arising from such mighty 



Man An Eternal Probationer. 139 



masses of decay and putrefaction from pervading the 
whole city and destroying its population with sickness 
and deatli, undying fires were kindled up and kept 
burning perpetually in Gehenna. The black columns of 
smoke rolling up from this dismal hollow bedimmed 
the brightness of the day, and the flaring flames that 
flashed from its yawning depths made the darkness 
of the night hideous. So in the run of the years this 
abominable glen came to be regarded and spoken of as 
a suitable emblem of the world of wretchedness and 
woe. And "the Son of man" simply used this popular 
word, and in fact all the other numerous terms em- 
ployed by him in connection with the punishment 01 
the wicked in the future world, in a metaphorical sense. 
And in this custom he is followed by all the other writ- 
ers in the Nevv^ Testament. 

For instance, it is spoken of as being "outer dark- 
ness," "the blackness of darkness," "the furnace of 
fire," "the lake of fire that burneth with brimstone," 
"unquenchable fire," "anguish in this flame," "the 
smioke of their torment goeth up forever and ever," 
"where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not 
quenched." 

It would seem that nothing could be made clearer to 
the mind of the attentive reader than that all these 
most terrific expressions are intended by the divine 
writers themselves to be taken as highly figurative in 
their meaning and application. They cannot be un- 
derstood as being literal. It is an evident fact that per- 
dition, v/hatever it m.ay be, cannot possibly be all of 
these fearful things at the same time ; and so it stands 
to reason that it is not any one of them in a material 
sense. The truth is that the indiscriminate use of them 



140 Man An Eternal Probationer. 



by our Lord and his apostles utterly demolishes the 
popular theory that physical torture, or any kind of 
outward appliances, will be resorted to in administer- 
ing penalty to the wicked in the world to come. All 
of these strong and significant illustrations w^ere se- 
lected by Jesus from common scenes of suffering as 
they may be w^itnessed by us in the observations of 
daily Hfe. But it by no means follow^s that he intends 
us to receive them according to the letter. And we 
cannot afford to undertake to force upon them any 
such an adventitious construction. And we ought not 
to attempt such a thing. 

It is the deep, unreheved gloom and the fierce an- 
guish of the guilty conscience which creates for the 
condemned sinner "the outer darkness"; and so it is 
the keen, penetrating pang of remorse that makes for 
him the ''lake of fire that burnetii with brimstone." 

And when carefully and candidly studied it will be 
seen that none of these sayings do necessarily teach 
that the chastisements of the wicked and lost must last 
forever. No such an inference can be drawn from 
them by any fair means. But they do settle one thing 
beyond a doubt; and that is this: every impenitent 
sinner, whether in the flesh or out of it, w^iether on 
earth or in perdition, must suffer condemnation as 
long as he remains refractory and unbelieving. So 
his hell is a matter of his own choosing. And thus it 
must be with him always. For while he continues in 
his structure and nature as he now is, he must be re- 
garded as responsible for his own condition, whatever 
it may be, for it is the direct result of his conduct. And 
for this reason his destiny must be perpetually placed 
in his own power and kept at his own disposal. Nei- 



Man An Eternal Probationer. 141 

ther time, place, nor surroundings can materially affect 
him in this respect. 

gj^^plAN is a curious being. He is mysterious in 
gH^^H his essence and complicated in his compo- 
m^Sm nent parts and mechanism. He strangely 
combines in himself two distinct substances. 
His body is composed of the dry, pulverized dust of 
the ground, and his spirit is the vital breath of Jeho- 
vah God. Then, in his substantial being, he is dust 
and breath — dust of earth and breath of God. 

But these two diverse elements in man are so remote 
from each other that it becomes indispensably neces- 
sary that there shall be an intermediate principle in 
him, partaking in some sort and measure of the dis- 
position and character of both, so that it may hold 
them together in harmony and keep them in the bonds 
of peace. Now the soul possesses this magic power 
and exercises this magnetic influence. It can bring 
the deathless spirit and mortal body into the closest 
union and happiest relations with each other. 

But when the soul in man is dominated by the cor- 
poreal nature, which is too often the case with him, it is 
pulled away from its better and happier associations 
with the spirit and prostituted to low, base, fleshly, 
brutish habits. And then the whole man sinks down 
to ruin. But on the other hand, if the spirit is allowed 
to rule supreme, as is its inherent right to do, the en- 
tirety of the three natures, in perfect accord with each 
other, rises to the most exalted position, and makes 
the grandest acquisitions in lawful sensuous pleasures, 
intellectual attainments, and spiritual enjoyments. 



142 Man An Eternal Probationer. 



The soul may be regarded as the divinely appointed 
daysman, acting with authority between the highest 
and lowest powers in man — the spirit and body. 

But when the soul surrenders itself wantonly to the 
service and interest of the body, as it frequently does, 
in the strong scriptural sense of the expression, it kills 
the spirit. But when it wisely submits itself to the di- 
rection and control of the spirit, it mortifies the body, 
and puts it to death. Then the spirit is enabled to lift 
it up to the sublimest aspiratitDns and the best per- 
formances of which it is capable. 

The spirit is the organ of God-consciousness in man. 
It brings him into direct contact with heaven, and 
holds him in communion with the Infinite Source of 
all excellence and goodness. It opens up to him his 
only opportunities for knowing, loving, and serving 
God, getting home to glory, and living forever with his 
Creator, Redeemer, and Father. 

But the gross "fleshly lusts" and worldly ambitions 
are the possessions of the body, and belong to it in 
'*fee simple." 

It is the sovereign right and province of the soul to 
decide with authority whether the body with its earth- 
ly tendencies, or the spirit with its heavenly aspira- 
tions, shall take the lead in the life of man, both in time 
and eternity. When the soul panders to the debasing 
appetites and voluptuous passions of the body, a ca- 
reer of dissipation and debauchery quickly follows. 
But if the soul give heed to the earnest solicitations 
and judicious pleadings of the spirit, a life of purity 
and holiness sets up as the felicitous result. In a life 
of wickedness, the soul and body are always combined 
against the spirit. But in a life of virtue and righteous- 



Man An Eternal Probationer. 143 



ness, the spirit and soul are joined together against the 
body, led on by the Holy Spirit. 

As an established rule, under the present constitu- 
tion and organization of things,, temptation to commit 
sin more frequently enters the soul through the body 
than otherwise. But the admission of sin into the soul 
in any way whatever is sure to terminate in the death 
of the spirit. Consequently, in speaking of the condi- 
tion of a wicked man, we are in the habit of saying that 
he is dead in ''trespasses and sins." And the peculiar 
declaration is scriptural. It belongs to Pauline the- 
ology. 

But what do we really mean by this singular form 
of speech? We frequently say, without the least hesi- 
tancy, that "the sinner is dead." Then it becomes nec- 
essary for us to explain more clearly and definite^ 
the exact idea which we wish to convey by the con- 
stant use of the expression, for it is confusing and 
puzzling to a great many. How is the sinner dead? 
why is he dead ? and what is that about him which is 
dead? 

Certainly it is not his body. That part of him may 
be perfectly healthy and all right in every way. On 
close examination by competent authority, it is found 
to be entirely sound in all its members and organs. It 
is normal, prompt, and regular in all its arrangements, 
actions, and functions. Nothing is wrong or out of 
order with his body. There is no difficulty whatever 
there. 

Neither is it his soul that is dead. The trouble is 
not in that department of the man. It does not lie in 
that direction. His mind is clear, vigorous, compre- 
hensive, energetic, and perfectly reliable in all its phe- 



144 Msiu An Eternal Probationer. 



nomena and operations. He has a sane mind in a 
sound body. 

But it is his spirit that is dead. And that is the high- 
est, best, and divinest factor in his deeply mysterious 
nature. 

When the first act of disobedience is intelligently, 
deliberately, and willfully committed against the laws 
of God, the spirit collapses at once. It falls away 
from the Fountain of Hfe, and drops into the dismal 
shades and dull slumbers of spiritual and eternal 
death. Thus it is that the original sin, intentionally and 
defiantly perpetrated by an erring human being, im- 
mediately kills the supreme faculty of life in him. 

Then how can that dead spirit in man ever be re- 
vived and reanimated? 

And you did he make alive, when ye were dead through 
your trespasses and sins. 

And you, being dead through your trespasses and the un- 
circumcision of your flesh, you, I say, did he make alive to- 
gether with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses. 

But ye are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if so be that 
the Spirit of God dwelleth in you. 

The Spirit of God communicates the initial pulsa- 
tion of life to the responsive spirit of man. And the di- 
vine current of this returning life to the reviving spirit 
of man is rolled forward by it, in conjunction with the 
gracious influence of the Holy Spirit, into the receptive 
soul. 

And then, by a simultaneous movement with the 
consenting soul, the resuscitated spirit, still assisted 
by the power of the almighty Spirit of God, forthwith 
sends this recovered life coursing through the unre^ 
sisting body : 



Man An Eternal Probationer. 145 



But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the 
dead dwelleth in you, he that raised up Christ Jesus from 
the dead shall give life also to your mortal bodies through his 
Spirit that dwelleth in you. 

So the whole man, in every element of his com- 
plicated make-up, is embraced in the benefits and 
blessings of this new life. The body, on accomit of its 
intimate relation and vital connection with the think- 
ing soul and worshiping spirit, is also rendered com- 
petent with them of realizing the same exhilarating 
joy of this divine quickening. And further, like its 
higher and nobler companions, in consideration of its 
incomprehensible association with them, it is made 
capable of being impressed and consciously affected 
by the Spirit of God and thrilled with the transporting 
raptures of spiritual and eternal life. Hence in con- 
version the body is really happy as well as the soul and 
spirit. Such is the divine diffusion and development of 
spiritual Hfe in man. 

But we may also clearly trace out the process of 
spiritual death in him. When the corporeal nature ob- 
tains the decided ascendency in him, and holds undis- 
puted control over the soul, he is thrown into a deplor- 
able plight. It is with him as when a proud, cruel, am- 
bitious, and incompetent despot manages to mount 
the throne, wear the undeserved crown, grasp the 
stolen scepter, and recklessly plunge the whole prov- 
ince into trouble and disorder. Just so when the 
usurping body seizes the reins of government, so to 
speak, and sways the entire man. Most truly the soul 
is then humiliated and degraded through the pervert- 
ed appetites and depraved passions of the tyrannical 
body; and the unhappy and defenseless spirit is cap- 
10 



146 Man An Eternal Probationer. 



tured and put to death without pity. Thus the man is 
stripped of his grandeur and glory, and left a sad wreck 
— "a sight which might make the angels weep." 



CRIPTURAL and scientific anthropology 
presents two very distinct views of man. 
Science teaches that he has only two things 
in his construction — matter and mind, body 
and soul. But the Bible holds another opinion con- 
cerning him. It teaches that he is compounded of 
body, soul, and spirit. Now if the scholastic theory, 
which is the popular one, were true, it might be differ- 
ent with him at death from what it is. In that case, it 
is more than likely that the soul would be dissipated 
at the dissolution of the body and the spirit reab- 
sorbed in universal Deity. But as the Scripture sys- 
tem must be correct, we can readily see that as the 
spirit dwells in the soul, and the soul resides in the body, 
therefore they must survive the death of the body, and 
thus preserve personal existence and identity beyond 
the grave. And during the interval which passes be- 
tween the death of the body and its resurrection, the 
power of the spirit over the soul will be greatly in- 
creased; and so, aided by the influence of the Holy 
Spirit, it may succeed in bringing about its reconcili- 
ation to God. 

If this should occur, the resurrection body will be 
subordinated at once to the heavenly life. But if it 
should fail, the spirit and soul must enter the resurrec- 
tion body in a state of alienation from God, be con- 
demned in judgment, and remanded to suffering, which 
will become more intense and intolerable than it was 




Man An Eternal Probationer. 147 



in the intermediate state. And this wretched condi- 
tion will continue until the soul decides to yield with 
the spirit to God, carrying the body along with it. 
The soul, at will, places the body or spirit in the as- 
cendency. But it costs it an heroic struggle to do it. 
And at last, when the final conflict comes, it will con- 
quer its old antagonist in an absolute sense ; and then, 
with the flush of victory upon it, recognize the rightful 
supremacy of the spirit, which will bring the whole 
man into the full possession of eternal life. And this 
seems to be the meaning of St. Paul when he says : 

It is sown a natural (Greek, psychical, or English, soulical) 
body ; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural (soul- 
ical) body, there is also a spiritual body. 

Not that the substance of the body in the resurrec- 
tion will be changed. It will not. The body which we 
have now is the soulical body. But as to its essence 
it is material, and it will remain so forever. And as it 
is adapted to the soul now and answers its purposes, 
so it will be adapted to the spirit then and answer its 
purposes. In the present life, the soul, while inhabit- 
ing the soulical body, is strongly drawn toward the 
world and its lusts. This renders a religious life very 
difiicult. But the spirit and soul, dwelling together in 
the spiritual body in the boundless ages of the future, 
\vill be powerfully attracted toward God and holiness. 



E talk about Mount Calvary and the redemp- 
tion which Jesus wrought out there upon the 
fatal beam of the rugged cross as if, com- 
paratively speaking, it were but a little thing 
at last. In our thought, as we are accustomed to ex- 




148 Man An Eternal Probationer. 



press it, by the crucifixion he only rescued man from 
ruin. And even with that we hold that a majority of 
the human race will be lost forever, while a mere mi- 
nority may finally be able to reap everlasting bless- 
ings from his sacrificial death. It would be more 
reasonable to contend that the battle of Waterloo af- 
fected nobody outside of the little kingdom of Bel- 
gium. And who would dare make such a suggestion 
in the face of the well-known fact that the great pow- 
ers of Europe obtained the largest blessings and most 
important advantages from it? And it may be that 
even France herself derived a better benefit from the 
disasters of that sad day than she could have realized 
from any victory that she might have won on the 
bloody field. 

All of the inspired writers, and especially John and 
Paul, indulge in the largest views of the unrestrained 
results of the atonement made by Jesus Christ upon 
the hills of Jerusalem. In their unclouded concep- 
tions, they reach the coasts of all the revolving worlds 
and pervade their populations with their unlimited in- 
fluences for everlasting good. They boldly hold that 
the cross antedates the very existence of the universe 
itself. Peter says that he ''was foreknown indeed be- 
fore the foundation of the world" (Greek, cosmos). 
And John declares that he is ''the Lamb that hath 
been slain from the foundation of the world" (Greek, 
cosmos, quoted from the original of the text of Westcott 
and Hort). Here he preesnts the mediatorial work of 
our Lord not simply as a contemplated scheme, ma- 
tured and adjusted in the Divine Mind, but as an ac- 
complished fact from the origin of all things. And it 
is quite likely that we have never yet fully sounded 



Man An Eternal Probationer. 149 



the mighty depths of meaning in that fine and most 
famihar saying of the beloved disciple in regard to this 
particular feature of this very matter : 

For God so loved the world {cosmos) ^ that he gave his 
only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should 
not perish, but have eternal life. 

He does not tell us that he so loved the earth which 
is the home of man. This restrictive word occurs often 
in the New Testament writings, but it is never found 
in connection with any reference to the extent of the 
atonement in its appHcation to the needs of the dis- 
obedient and disaffected in the government of God. 
The indefinite term, cosmos, world, or universe, is al- 
ways used for this purpose. It is employed about one 
hundred and fourteen times in the writings of St. John, 
and about forty-seven times in the epistles of St. Paul. 
The word itself seems to denote the fact that the whole 
universe of v/orlds is deeply involved and vitally in- 
terested in the redeeming work of "the Son of man" ; 
and that finally it must, in all of its various parts, 
somehow or another, be brought by it into perfect 
harmony with the will of God. This is not to be ac- 
complished by the compulsory power of his omnip- 
otent arm, but rather by the irresistible force of his 
sovereign love, which will finally be met with the re- 
sponsive faith of the creature, which will be voluntari- 
ly and cheerfully given whether man, angel, or any 
other order of beings. 

It may require many millions of ages to consum- 
mate this, the happiest of all reconciliations. But it 
must be done. And at last all wayward worlds will 
drop back into their proper places ; and then the black 
clouds of sin and death will roll away from their over- 



150 Man An Eternal Probationer. 

cast skies, leaving them flaming forever with the beau- 
tiful light of an abiding purity. 



T is said that "the demons also believe, and 
shudder." When men beHeve and fear, we 
say that it is the beginning of wisdom with 
them. Then why should we conclude, when 
demons do the same thing — ^believe and fear — ^that 
they do so only in view of their inevitable and eternal 
damnation? How can we know that? In their case 
m^ay it not indicate that initial effort — which in the end 
must prove successful — to break asunder the "ever- 
lasting bonds under darkness unto the -judgment of 
the great day" with which they are bound, in order 
that they may return to their primordial fealty to God, 
recover "their proper habitation," and regain their 
lost "principaHty"? This seems at least probable. 
They are obUged to be wheat or chaff. If they be- 
come good grain, they will be garnered in the bins of 
glory; "but the chaff he will burn up with unquench- 
able fire." Then it must be complete salvation or 
entire destruction. If there should be such a creature 
found anywhere in the great moral government of 
God as an incorrigibly wicked thing, it must be utterly 
consumed — obliterated. But annihilation does not 
seem to find favor with the Supreme Architect of all 
things, or to enter into his policy at any point. He 
blots out nothing that he has made. There is no rea- 
son why he should. He need malce no such blunder. 
His infinite wisdom guides him safely. However, he 
does change all things from an inferior to a better 
condition. He works according to that plan. He is 




Man An Eternal Probationer. 151 



always lifting things from a lower to a higher position. 
But he has never yet, so far as our knowledge goes, 
entirely demoHshed anything which he has brought 
into existence. Hence we conclude that he will not 
wipe out a single atom of matter that he has pro- 
duced. Then he surely will not reduce an ethereal, 
spiritual essence to nothingness. 

But he has revealed it as being his unyielding and 
unfailing purpose to swing back the whole of the vast 
universe of countless worlds from all defections, de- 
viations, and deflections, which have in any way dis- 
turbed or troubled their former relations with him, 
into his eternal and unchangeable favor, through the 
mediatorial work of Jesus Christ. And when our di- 
vine Lord shall have fully accomplished this grand 
restoration and confirmation of all things in endless 
life and happiness, then the everlasting Father will 
usher in the bright coronation day of the victorious 
"Son of man," and will summon all the worlds, rolling 
through the steadily brightening fields of the vast and 
inconceivable infinitudes of "boundless space,'* from 
the great central orb which is the glorious palace of 
the eternal King of peace and righteousness, far out 
to where the most distant planet floats softly upon the 
dim outlines of creation, to join in the ever-flowing, 
sweet, and sublime strains of the grand universal an- 
them of perfect praise and perpetual triumph : 

Bring forth the royal diadem, 
And crown him Lord of all, 



Analytical Contents, 

With Scrijfture Quotations and References. 

PREFATORY NOTE. ^^^^ 

Things in the future speculative 5 

We cannot afford dogmatism 5 

Liberty of speech claimed 6 

We cannot always agree with others 6 

All things in a transition state 6 

Sympathy of the reading public desired 7 

The book committed to its mission 7 

PART I. 

A Plain, Simple Presentation of the Subject. 

Man is on trial 9 

Future punishment specially discussed 9 

Man a responsible being lO 

Character and destiny lO 

Responsibility must cease with the end of freedom 11 

Scripture reference, Gen. xviii. 25 Ii 

Endless punishment unreasonable 12 

Annihilation preferable to eternal pain 12 

Man in time and eternity 13 

He makes his own happiness or wretchedness 13 

Man in time and eternity 14 

His destiny never unchangeably fixed 15 

If the saved may be lost, the lost may be saved 15 

Heaven should always be as accessible to men as hell 16 

The Fatherhood of God in this connection 17 

Scripture reference, Matt. vii. 11 17 

Parental chastisement considered 17 

All punishment ought to be corrective 17 

Scripture reference, Heb. xii. 9 18 

God will always help us to be good and happy 18 

Scripture reference, John iii. 16 18 

Our views of this question will not please all 19 

Scripture reference, Eccles. x. 8 19 

(152) 



Analytical Contents. 153 

PAGE 

What really constitutes heaven or hell 19 

The old idea of hell 20 

The place does not make heaven or hell 20 

What man is and does makes him happy or miserable 21 

Scripture references, Heb. vi. 5; John iii. 18 22 

Probation is man's normal condition 22 

All men will finally be saved 23 

We expect changes at death which may not occur 23 

Man a composite being 24 

Appetites and passions belong to the body 25 

They are given to man for noble purposes 25 

They belong to this life only 26 

Scripture reference, Luke xx. 34-36 26 

The mental faculties belong to the soul 26 

The religious capacities belong to the spirit 27 

Scripture reference, Heb. i. 14 27 

With man the occasion of sin is in the body 27 

The first sin committed by man 27 

Jesus was also tempted through the body 28 

The possibility of man's salvation is in his spirit 29 

The carnal and spiritual forces meet in his soul 29 

Corporeal death a blessing to man 29 

We are not advocating Universalism 31 

Calvinism 32 

Scripture reference, Acts ii. 22-24 32 

Universalism in an unlimited sense 32 

Calvinism and Universahsm compared 32 

Restorationism 33 

Roman Catholic purgatory 33 

Future punishment a great question 34 

Punishment in both worlds the same 36 

Remorse of conscience punishment for sin 36 

As long as men sin they must suffer 37 

When sin ceases perdition ends 37 

PART 11. 
The Scriptural View of the Subject. 

The Bible consulted for and against our views 39 

The American Revised Version used 39 

The Jews believed in a future state for man. 39 



154 Analytical Contents. 

PAGE 

The Jews had vague notions of the future 39 

In their thought the dead all go to the same place 40 

Scripture reference, 2 Kings xxii. 20 40 

The name of the intermediate place is Sheol 40 

In Greek it is called Hades 40 

The Hebrews looked upon it as a gloomy place 40 

Scripture quotation, Job x. 20-22 41 

Comments on the quotation 41 

The New Testament idea more cheerful 41 

Scripture quotation. Rev. xiv. 13 41 

Comments on the quotation 41 

A saint brought the message from paradise 42 

Scripture quotation. Rev. xxii. 8, 9 42 

Comments on the quotation 42 

Scripture references, Isa. xxxiii. 17; Luke xvi. 25 43 

Our departed friends still feel an interest in us 43 

Scripture reference, i Tim. vi. 12 44 

Not place, but condition, makes happiness or misery 44 

Paradise and Tartarus 44 

Jesus recognizes these divisions in Hades 45 

The condition of the man makes the place what it is 45 

Both malefactors entered Hades together 45 

The good and bad are together in Hades 46 

Scripture quotation, i Sam. xxviii. 19 46 

Comments on the quotation 46 

The teaching of Jesus about Hades 47 

Scripture quotation, Luke xvi. 23 47 

Comments on the quotation 47 

Scripture reference, Gen. xviii. 23 48 

The gulf between the rich man and Lazarus 48 

Scripture quotation, Luke xvi. 26 48 

Comments on the quotation 48 

Scripture references, i John iii. 14; Acts xxvi. 18 49 

Man an interesting study 50 

Bible account of his origin 50 

Scripture quotation, Gen. ii. 7 51 

Unity of the human race 51 

Scripture quotation, Acts xvii. 26 Si 

Man a unity, duality, and trinity 5t 

Construction of the human body 52 



Analytical Contents. 155 

PAGE 

Scripture quotation, Psa. cxxxix. 14 53 

Man's pneumatic nature 53 

Scripture quotations, Job xxvii. 3; Job xxxii. 8 54 

Man's psychical nature 54 

Man in connection with the government of God 55 

The body brings man into contact with this world 55 

Man's spirit brings him into communion with God 55 

Scripture quotations, Heb. xii. 9; Acts xvii. 28 55 

The endowments of the spirit 56 

The powers of the soul 56 

The possessions of the body 56 

Scripture reference, i Peter ii. 11 56 

The course which sin takes in man 56 

Scripture quotation, James i. 13-15 S6 

The process of salvation in man 56 

Scripture quotations, John vi. 63; John iii. 6 57 

The Spirit of God can quicken the spirit of man 57 

Scripture quotation, i Cor. ii. 14 57 

God is not comprehended by an intellectual grasp 58 

God can be known by a spiritual effort 58 

Scripture reference, i Thess. v. 23 59 

The distinction between spirit and soul 59 

Dichotomy is the teaching of the schools 59 

Trichotomy is the doctrine of the Bible 59 

Scripture quotation. Gen. i. 26. 59 

Comments on the quotation 59 

Mary, the mother of Jesus, observes the distinction 60 

Scripture quotation, Luke i. 46, 47 6c 

Comments on the quotation 60 

Conflict between the soul and body 61 

Scripture quotation, Rom. vii. 18, 19 61 

Comments on the quotation 61 

What a man consumes in a year 62 

Man's only sure course for salvation 63 

Man must subdue his body 63 

Scripture quotation, i Cor. ix. 27 63 

Comments on the quotation 63 

The soul must submit itself to the spirit 65 

The soul the deciding power in man 65 

Jesus always addresses man as a free agent 65 



156 Analytical Contents. 

PAGK 

Scripture quotation, Luke ix. 23 65 

Comments on the quotation 65 

Scripture quotation, John vii. 17 66 

Comments on the quotation 66 

The things which make man an eternal probationer. 67 

All men will finally be confirmed in eternal life 67 

Probation must last till all men are saved 68 

First Class of Scripture Proofs — Inferential 68 

Priesthood of Jesus 68 

Scripture quotation, Heb. vii. 23-25 68 

Comments on the quotation 69 

Our Lord did not come from Levi's tribe 69 

Scripture quotation, Heb. vii. 14-16 69 

Comments on the quotation 69 

Object of our Lord's baptism 69 

Scripture quotation, John i. 31-34 70 

Comments on the quotation 70 

Jesus could not be a priest and remain on earth 70 

Scripture quotation, Heb. viii. 4 70 

Comments on the quotation 71 

Scripture references, Heb. ii. 10; Heb. iv. 15; Heb. ix. 12. 71 

Man's probation does not end at death 71 

The ends of the earth called to salvation 72 

Scripture quotation, Isa. xlv. 22, 23 72 

Comments on the quotation 72 

Christ's dominion over the whole earth 73 

Scripture quotation, Psa. ii. 7, 8 73 

Comments on the quotation 73 

The universal commission 74 

Scripture quotation, Matt, xxviii. 18-20 74 

Comments on the quotation 74 

Second Class of Scripture Proofs — AMrmative 76 

The crisis of the world 76 

Scripture quotation, John xii. 31, 32 76 

Comments on the quotation 76 

Scripture references, Heb. ii. 14, 15; Gen. iii. 15 77 

The whole universe reconciled to God through Christ. ... 79 

Scripture quotation, Col. i. 19, 20 79 

Comments on the quotation 79 

Scripture reference, Jer. xxxi. 3 80 



Analytical Contents. 157 

PAGE 

All things created in, by, and for Christ 8i 

Scripture quotation, Col. i. i6, 17 81 

Comments on the quotation 81 

All things headed up in Christ 84 

Scripture quotation, Ephes. i. 9, 10 84 

Comments on the quotation 84 

Scripture reference, 2 Cor. v. 19 84 

Attractions of the cross of Christ 85 

Are fallen angels embraced in redemption? 85 

The restoration of all things 85 

Scripture quotation, Acts iii. 20, 21 85 

Comments on the quotation 85 

The entire creation worshiping Christ 86 

Scripture quotation, Phil. ii. 9, 10 86 

Comments on the quotation 86 

All creation praising the Lamb 83 

Scripture quotation, Rev. v. 13 88 

Comments on the quotation 88 

Christ must reign till he conquers all his enemies 88 

Scripture quotation, i Cor. xv. 24-26 88 

Comments on the quotation 88 

Scripture references, Luke i. 33 ; Matt. v. 3 89 

Scripture reference, i Cor. xv. 28 90 

Man's relation to the atonement 91 

Christ's mission into our world 92 

Scripture quotation, Luke xix. 10 92 

Comments on the quotation 92 

Scripture references, John xvii. 5; Gal. iv. 4 92 

Three great parables 92 

The parable of the lost sheep 93 

Scripture quotation, Luke xv. 3-7 93 

Comments on the quotation 93 

Parable of the lost piece of money 95 

Scripture quotation, Luke xv. 8-10 95 

Comments on the quotation 95 

Parable of the prodigal son 96 

Scripture quotation, Luke xv. 11-32 96 

Comments on the quotation 97 

Angels rejoice over the sinner's conversion 100 

Our departed friends constantly behold us loi 



158 Analytical Contents. 

PAGE 

Scripture reference, Heb. xii. i loi 

The prodigal son's great feast lOl 

The last lost sheep was found 102 

The last lost piece of silver was found 102 

The last prodigal son came home 102 

The parables teach the recovery of all men 102 

Scripture reference, Rev. xix. 6 103 

The unity of design in the parables 103 

Third Class of Scripture Proofs — Negative 103 

The wicked turned back unto Sheol 103 

Scripture quotation, Psa. ix. 17 103 

Comments on the quotation 103 

Scripture reference, Psa. ix. 3 104 

The fallen tree 105 

Scripture quotation, Eccles. xi. 3 105 

Comments on the quotation 105 

Scripture reference, Eccles. xi. i, 2 106 

Scripture reference, Eccles. xi. 3 107 

Fate of the king of Babylon 107 

Scripture quotation, Isa. xiv. 9 107 

Comments on the quotation 107 

Devouring fire and everlasting burnings 108 

Scripture quotation, Isa. xxxiii. 14 108 

Comments on the quotation 108 

Scripture reference, Isa. xxxiii. 15-17 109 

The dead aroused to doom ito 

Scripture quotation, Dan. xii. 2 no 

Comments on the quotation no 

The insolvent debtor 112 

Scripture quotation, Matt. v. 25, 26 1 12 

Comments on the quotation 112 

Scripture reference, Matt. v. 21-24 112 

Scripture reference, 2 Cor. v. 10 114 

The wicked sent into eternal punishment 116 

Scripture quotation, Matt. xxv. 46 116 

Comments on the quotation 116 

Scripture references, 2 Peter ii. 4; Jude 6 118 

Heaven and Hell concrete conditions, not abstract places. 119 

The blasphemy against the Ploly Spirit 120 

Scripture quotation. Mark iii. 28-30 120 



Analytical Contents. 159 

PAGE 

Comments on the quotation 120 

Scripture references, Mark xiv. 64 ; Matt, xxvii. 39 ; Rom. 

iii. 8; i Cor. iv. 13; Ephes. iv. 31 ; i Tim. vi. 4 121 

Scripture reference, Luke xvi. 24 123 

Scripture reference. Acts xx. 24 125 

Sins forgiven in the world to come 125 

Scripture quotation, Matt. xii. 32 125 

Comments on the quotation 125 

Christ preaching to the spirits in prison 126 

Scripture quotation, i Peter iii. 18-20 126 

Comments on the quotation 126 

The gospel preached to the dead 128 

Scripture quotation, i Peter iv. 6 128 

Comments on the quotation 128 

Differences in advantages among men 128 

Reason why Tyre, Sidon, and Sodom were lost 129 

Scripture quotation, Matt. xi. 21-23 129 

Comments on the quotation 129 

Scripture reference. Gen. xiii. 10 131 

Scripture references, Jude 7; Heb. xii. 23; Rom. ii. 11... 131 

The dead raised up for judgment 132 

Scripture quotation, John v. 28, 29 132 

Comments on the quotation 132 

Destiny in time or eternity conditional 132 

Scripture quotation, John iii. 36 133 

Comments on the quotation 133 

Scripture reference, Rom. x. 10 134 

St. Paul's idea of perdition 134 

Scripture quotation, 2 Thess. i. 9 134 

Comments on the quotation 134 

First man born of woman cast into hell 135 

Scripture quotation, Gen. iv. 13, 14 135 

Comments on the quotation 136 

How long punishment in hell will last 137 

Soul and body destroyed in Gehenna 137 

Scripture quotation, Matt. x. 28 137 

Comments on the quotation 137 

Scripture references, Matt. viii. 12; Jude 13; Matt. xiii. 

42; Rev. xix. 20; Matt. iii. 12; Luke xvi. 24; Mark ix. 

48 139 



i6o Analytical Contents. 

PAGE 

Man a curious being 141 

Soul the intermediate power in man 141 

Body dominating the soul ruins man 141 

When the spirit is supreme all is safe 141 

Spirit the organ of God — consciousness 142 

Soul decides which shall lead, body or spirit 142 

Sin usually enters the soul through the body 143 

Sin in the soul kills the spirit 143 

We say the sinner is dead — what do we mean? 143 

His body is not dead 143 

His soul is not dead 143 

His spirit is dead 144 

The first sin kills the spirit 144 

The spirit can be quickened 144 

Scripture references, Ephes. ii. i ; Col. ii. 13 ; Rom. viii. 9. 144 

The process of spiritual life 144 

Scripture reference, Rom. viii. 11 145 

Man's spirit, soul, and body in conversion 145 

Process of spiritual death 145 

Scriptural and scientific anthropology 146 

The spirit and soul in the intermediate state 146 

The resurrection body 147 

Scripture quotation, i Cor. xv. 44 147 

Comments on the quotation 147 

Results of the death of Christ 147 

Cross antedates the existence of the universe 148 

Scripture references, i Peter i. 20; Rev. xiii. 8 148 

Christ's death affects the whole universe 148 

Scripture quotation, John iii. 16 149 

Comments on the quotation 149 

Scripture reference. Matt. ix. 6 149 

Work of redemption consummated 149 

Condition of the demons 150 

Scripture reference, James ii. 19 150 

Scripture reference, Matt. iii. 12 150 

God's policy salvation, not annihilation 150 

Jesus crowned King of all worlds 151 



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